


ain't no sleep (when the wicked play)

by ariquitecontrary (ItsAriyanna)



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Sugar Daddy, Emotional Constipation, F/M, Name Your Kink, Porn with Feelings, Sugar Daddy with Benefits
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-05
Updated: 2018-06-16
Packaged: 2019-02-11 01:22:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 48,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12924294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ItsAriyanna/pseuds/ariquitecontrary
Summary: Heartbreak is hell.The five thousand dollar necklace on Betty's neck and the man at her feet? Not so much.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my fic where I'm going to explore literally every possible kink out there. You got a kink? Let me know. This is the fic for that. 
> 
> Thank you to the amazing strix over on Tumblr for being such an awesome beta and fixing all my messy tenses. ;) You are the absolute best.
> 
> Also it's actually going to have a plot and shit, so it's not JUST sex. Sorry to disappoint. Enjoy. 
> 
> (( Title from Wicked Ones by Dorothy. ))

Betty Cooper drops her pencil onto the desk and closes the blue booklet in front of her, smiling to herself in the sheer satisfaction that she’s actually done. She’s _finally_ finished with this semester of college. 

With a bit of a bounce in her step, she walks over to the professor and hands over her test to him. He takes it graciously and wishes her a happy holiday before bidding her farewell. Betty will miss Dr. Carter. He had been a fun professor and had actually made history interesting, but even a slight prickle of nostalgia cannot dampen the excitement of having completed yet another semester. 

Betty is the first one done with her exam and she can feel the glare of her peers eyes on her back as she exits the room, but she doesn’t care. 

Veronica Lodge, her best friend and roommate, is waiting for her on a bench outside of the exam room just like she had promised she would be. 

“Well?” The brunette asks, excitedly, jumping up once she sees Betty. “How did you do?” 

“Pretty sure I aced it,” Betty says with a smirk as she shrugs nonchalantly. Veronica squeals in happiness though and wraps her arms around her. In all honesty, history had been kicking her ass this year and the two of them had stayed up all night studying. Betty was feeling confident in her abilities though, still even if she didn’t make an A on the exam, she would be just as satisfied with a B and she was sure she had achieved at least that much.

“You know what this means,” Veronica sings out as she links their arms together, leading Betty down the school’s stairway. 

“No,” Betty groans, because she absolutely _does_ know. 

“Come on! I already told Archie we’d go and it’ll be fun. We haven’t gone out in a while and you deserve to cut loose right now; we both do! This semester is over, you aced your test, and it’s a Saturday! We _deserve_ this,” Veronica exclaimed. “Come on, you used to love going to clubs.” 

Betty bites at her lip. Veronica’s right, she did used to enjoy the club scene, but that was back before her boyfriend dumped her for absolutely no reason. A bitter taste runs through her mouth as she thinks about Reggie and how he’d shown up at her apartment with chocolates out of nowhere. Betty was sure he was going to surprise her with a date or something, but instead she just got a ‘Sorry, babe, I can’t do this anymore. I hope these chocolates make up for me being a complete dick.’ Which _no_ , they _didn’t_ , even if they were her favorites and even if Betty did scruff them down while crying later that night; they still didn’t make her feel any better. 

The breakup with Reggie had come out of nowhere. They’d been together for two years, ever since they’d bumped into each other at freshman orientation, and she had been in love with him. She thought he’d been in love with her, too, but he must not have been. Otherwise, how could he just throw away a two year relationship like yesterday’s trash? It didn’t make any sense to her and, yeah, needless to say, Betty hadn’t really been in the party mood lately. Especially not when it consisted of Archie and Veronica engaging in the weird, long-drawn-out flirting game they’d been playing since they were fifteen-years-old. Betty used to laugh at them for it, but now it was just sad. Anyone with eyes could see that they were in love with each other and Betty felt like it was a waste to just _not_ act on their feelings because they were both too daft. She would give anything to have Reggie back and here Veronica was, throwing away a perfectly good guy for reasons only she was privy to . 

“I don’t know, V. I was kind of hoping I could just spend the evening cleaning up around the apartment.” Thanks to the courtesy of Veronica’s very rich father, they lived freely in a very nice apartment on the Upper East Side and while Veronica was kind of a slob, Betty liked to make sure the place at least looked nice enough for what it was worth. 

Her best friend just rolls her eyes though and stops her, placing both her hands onto Betty’s shoulders and gives her that infamous pout that usually got Veronica her way. 

“B, come _on_. It’s about time that you forgot all about the colossal asswhipe that is Reginald Mantle. It’s been over a month. He’s a dick, okay? Like a grade-A dick and you deserve better so let’s get you a shower, a nice, new dress with daddy’s black card, and let’s just have a fun, stress-free night. Please?” The pout grows and Betty curses silently. “ _Please_ , B?” 

“Fine,” she grumbles out, causing Veronica to squeal giddily as she throws her arms around her tightly. “But no new dress! You have plenty enough at the apartment that I can borrow.” If she buys a new dress then it’ll feel like she’s trying to move on and she isn’t. She doesn’t want to forget Reggie so soon. She had really thought that she would spend the rest of her life with him and so if there’s any chance that he may come back, Betty wants to make sure that he knows she’s been patiently waiting. She wonders if that makes her pathetic. Maybe, but she doesn’t care. 

Veronica just waves off her off and starts talking about outfit ideas and how this new club is absolutely ‘to die for’ and Betty nods along like she’s interested, but really she just feels like she’s betraying Reggie’s trust right now. She wonders what he’s doing, what he’s _been_ doing, but she has to shake those thoughts away just as quickly as they come. She’s acutely aware of just how attractive Reggie is. Even when they had been dating, girls were always so quick to throw themselves all over him and Betty’s sure that hasn’t stopped at all, especially now that he’s single. She just hopes that there’s a chance he might be thinking about her, too. 

.  
.  
.

Just as she had expected, the club is boring. Okay, well that’s not really fair. It’s actually a really nice place and they’re playing good music. It doesn’t smell like sex, vomit, and cigarettes and the floor isn’t littered with trash. All in all, it’s probably the nicest club they’ve ever been to, but it’s still just that: a club. People are grinding up against each other on the dancefloor, Archie and Veronica included, two guys were thrown out for fighting, strobe lights are nearly blinding her, and a remix of a popular rock song is playing through the large speakers. It’s just like every other club, but the only difference here is that Betty didn’t bring her fake I.D. so she can’t even drink to pretend like she’s having fun. 

She’s sipping at a Shirley Temple and twirling around in her barstool. She’s been getting looks all night from men, but not the kind that Veronica was probably hoping she’d get in the tight black dress she’d lent her. Instead people are looking at her like she’s some underage child who’d snuck in here. The way she’s been spinning around on her seat for the past five minutes probably isn’t helping at all either. 

“Can I have another one?” She yells out to the bartender when she starts sucking on nothing but air, earning her a few disgusted looks from the people around her. The bartender himself looks like he’s done with her shit and honestly, she gets it. A part of her is hoping that the more sad and pathetic she looks, the bigger her chances of getting thrown out will be. Maybe if she starts acting like a drunk fool she’ll get her wish. 

When a new drink is slid over to her, she sips at it quickly, wishing that it was alcohol. At least if she had some alcohol she’d be drunk enough to fall under the pretence of having fun, but as it is now, Betty feels like she’s attending a funeral of someone she did not particularly like — awkward and moody. There’s a chance that’s probably what everyone here is thinking, too. 

Betty scans the dancefloor for her friends, but as usual neither of them are in sight. For the first time since they’ve all been friends, Betty feels herself getting angry at them. It was unfair how they just seemed to land in each other’s lap. Betty was a good person; she donated money to charities, spent Christmases at soup kitchens, volunteered at a daycare; she was nice, she was _good_. So why did she always get the short end of the stick? What kind of fucked up karma did she have that deemed her unlovable? She was tired of being the odd one out in their friendship, always feeling like a third wheel. It didn’t even matter that Veronica and Archie weren’t actually dating, because just witnessing the way they looked at each other was a nightmare in and of itself. Being with Reggie had finally made her feel like she wasn’t some kind of outsider in her own friend circle and now she didn’t even have that. 

Betty sips at her straw furiously and groans when she finishes it, making the ugly air sucking noise once again. A girl with grey-dyed hair gives her an ugly look before leaving the bar. Betty doesn’t pay her any mind though. There’s nothing the girl can be thinking that she hasn’t thought of herself at least once. 

She slams the drink down on the counter but before she can order another one, a man sits next to her and laughs deeply. 

“Don’t you think you’ve had enough?” 

She snaps her head to the right and glares at the offending voice, but it’s in vain because as soon as she seems him, her features go soft, jaw slackening. 

This guy, whoever he is, might just be one of the most attractive men she’s ever seen. He’s tall, tall enough that she has to tilt her head to actually see his entire face. He looks older, maybe thirty-years-old, but he has such a boyish look to his face that she wouldn’t be surprised if she’s guessing incorrectly. Black hair sits messily atop of his head and a single curl lazily falls forward, just barely touching his eyebrow. Blueish-green eyes stare back at her, playful and teasing and Betty has to blink a few times and remind herself where she’s at. Sleazy men were always hanging out at clubs and she had no doubts that this man was any different. 

“No,” she says simply. 

“Six glasses says differently.” 

She rolls her eyes. This is a futile conversation with an irrelevant stranger and Betty absolutely doesn’t want to indulge him and his male ego, but something about his arrogance is especially aggravating her. 

“Are you watching me or something?” When he doesn’t say anything, she pushes the glass away with a huff. “It’s not alcoholic.” 

“Shame,” he mumbles, but it still manages to come out in a deep drawl. “We could always change that.” 

Betty gives him an incredulous look, but an easy smile stays on his face. He isn’t even discouraged by her lack of response as he holds up two fingers to the bartender and yells out the name of some drink she’s never heard before. She expects the bartender to roll his eyes and tell the man to keep dreaming, but instead she watches as he quickly makes the drinks before handing them over to him. 

The man grabs one of them and places it into her hand before picking up his own. 

“Cheers.” 

He swiftly downs it, but Betty doesn’t even move an inch. Now that she talked to this guy, she doesn’t want to get drunk anymore, so in a fit of pure defiance, she turns to the person on the other side of her, a girl with curly red hair, and she hands her the drink as she tells her to enjoy it. 

“You know,” the stranger says again, “usually when I buy a girl a drink, she says thank you.” 

“Usually when random guys try giving me drinks it means they’re perverts who are going to roofie me.” 

She says it with a straight face, not joking at all, but the man in front of her laughs like she’s just told him the funniest joke she knows. 

“Smart girl,” he says, smile still on his face. “What’s your name?” 

And for some inexplicable, logic-defying reason, she tells him: “Betty.” 

He smiles and nods. “Jughead.” 

He’s gotta be shitting her. “ _Excuse me?_ ” 

“My name. It’s Jughead.” He must see the look on her face because he just rolls his eyes. “Trust me when I say it’s better than the original.” 

“Doubtful,” Betty whispers to herself. Now that she looks at him closer, she sees that his clothes are nice, like _really_ nice. He’s wearing the type of brands that could be found in Veronica’s closet. Betty knows this because she recognizes the print of his shirt collar as one of Veronica’s favorites; Burberry. 

“Alone?” 

She shrugs, still unsure as to why she permits herself to engage in conversation. “I was with my friends. They’re gone now, probably off dancing somewhere.” She silently curses herself. Why would she admit that to him? He was a perfect stranger, and she’d seen enough of the ID channel to know you don’t broadcast to one that _you’re alone_. 

_Look at me,_ Betty thought, _an isolated prey, right here, ladies and gentlemen. Stupid, stupid, stupid—_

“You don’t like dancing?” He asks, tilting his head as if he’s studying her, and interrupting her thoughts. 

“No.” 

“Then you aren’t dancing with the right person.” Before she can think about what he means, he lifts a hand out to her. “Come on.” When she just looks at him blankly, he smiles slyly. “I did just buy you a drink, you know.” 

“Is that how you get all the women? Bribery?” 

“It’s hardly a bribe,” he chuckles and the richness of the sound makes Betty smile back at him finally. She looks at his still extended hand and takes ahold of it, noticing the way his smile grows before he leads her through the crowd of people. 

The dance floor is filled with bodies and Betty bumps into several of them, earning herself multiple glares, before Jughead stops them in the middle of the floor. Betty recognizes the song playing through the speakers, Astronomia, and she smiles as Jughead wraps a hand around her waist and pulls her closer to him. Centimeters away from him now, she can smell his cologne and it takes her off guard; he smells heavenly. His hand feels hot on her back and she wouldn’t be surprised if it were burning right through her clothes, searing her skin. 

He moves towards her, pressing his lower half against hers as he moves his hips and chest to the beat of the music. 

“Let loose,” he tells her as he brings his hand up and wraps it around the back of her neck. 

_Let loose._ She closes her eyes. Can she even do that? Isn’t that some sort of betrayal? Isn’t that kind of like emotional cheating? No, Betty thought. _No._ Reggie left _her_ ; he gave up on them, not her. Veronica was right. She shouldn’t be sitting around wallowing in her own self pity. She’s single, she’s young, and she has a gorgeous man right in front of her. She deserved to have fun, however transitory the feeling may be. 

Betty opens her eyes and when she does, she looks at Jughead differently, as if she’s only just seeing him now for the first time. His eyes are hooded as he stares at her and she bites at her lip as she finally lets go of the tension she’d been carrying for the past few weeks. 

She begins to move to the beat of the song with him, matching his grinding with her own as she presses herself against him. Their eyes are locked on each other and she rolls her hips, watching as he licks his lips and presses their foreheads together. It shouldn’t be as sensual as it feels, but it is. Betty can feel his heat running through her and when a bead of sweat trickles down her neck, he sticks out his tongue and licks it off. The move makes her knees weak and she can feel herself becoming turned on. She suddenly wants more of him; she wants him _everywhere_.

She arches her back, making her chest press right against his and she swears she can feel him smile against her skin. He snakes his hand up and twirls it through her hair, yanking back on it and exposing more of her neck to him. As he trails his lips against her skin, his leg pries itself in between her thighs, pressing right up against her center, and the touch sparks a fire inside of her. 

“You’re wet,” he whispers against her ear and she shivers at the dark tone. Betty should feel embarrassed, but, oddly enough, she isn’t. She’s way too aroused to be embarrassed about any of this. “Want to do something about that?” 

She should say no. God, she should really tell him no. He’s a stranger she’s only just met in a club. She knows nothing about him except his name. Saying ‘no’ would be the smart choice. 

“Yes,” she breathes out, practically moaning the word. 

He pulls away from her and smiles softly at the look of longing she’s currently giving him. He gestures his head towards the entrance of the club, motioning for her to follow him, and she does. Betty’s not even concerned with where Archie and Veronica are or if they’re even searching for her right now or if they’ll be worried about her. All she’s focused on is Jughead. 

He leads her through the crowd once more before they’re outside, the cold air hitting her and cooling her down from the high she’d just been on. She expects him to call a taxi or try to hail one down, but instead he walks over to a black car parked on the side of the street with windows so tinted she can’t see a single thing through them except for herself. 

He opens up the backseat door for her and she gives him an unsure look. 

“Trust me,” he tells her, an open, genuine look on his face. Betty shouldn’t trust him, this whole thing is insane and all shades of sketchy, but bafflingly she does. She’s never had a one night stand before, but she’s sick of always being the good girl. She deserves to be bad every once in awhile. Absently, she wonders what Veronica would think if she could see her now. 

She slides into the backseat and startles when she sees a man sitting in the driver’s seat. He doesn’t even acknowledge her presence. It’s only when Jughead slides in next to her and tells him ‘home’, that the man actually moves and puts the car in drive. 

“Personal driver?” Betty questions. Veronica used to have a personal driver and she can’t imagine anyone who isn’t rich having one. Suddenly, she wonders just who she’s sitting next to. 

“He won’t pay any attention to us,” Jughead tells her lightly. “Ryan, some music, please.” 

The radio turns on, some popular pop song playing, and before Betty can tell him that it’s her favorite song right now, Jughead places a hand on her thigh. She looks down at it and stares at it intently. He has large hands, completely spanning across the entirety of her thigh. Betty desperately tries not to dwell on the way that _really_ turns her on. 

His fingers graze against her skin and she shivers at the light touch. She spares a sideways glance at Jughead, but he’s staring straight ahead with a look on his face that gives nothing away. 

After a few more seconds, his hand trails up her leg until it disappears underneath her dress. She waits for him to do something, _anything_ really, but his hand just stays planted on her upper thigh, unmoving and hot as hell. Her chest rises and falls deeply, as she wiggles her hips, trying to move into his touch, but as soon as she does, he pulls away. 

She looks at him in complete despair only to find that he’s already looking at her, eyes hardened and mouth in a straight line. 

“Good girls are patient,” he says just loud enough that only she’ll hear him. “Can you do that? Can you be good for me, Betty?” 

It’s different from anything she’s ever been told before. Reggie was pretty vanilla in bed. His idea of kinky was her riding cowgirl and fuzzy handcuffs. This wasn’t that, though. She looks into Jughead’s eyes and she can tell there’s a weight, an intent to his words unlike any she had previously experienced. 

“Yes,” she whispers, low and husky; she isn’t even sure he heard her. Jughead smiles though, slow and gentle, as if he’s proud of her — and it strikes her then, that he was. 

Almost immediately, his hand goes back to where it had just been and although it’s a torturous, sweet agony, she makes sure to stay completely still as she takes deep, even breaths and tries to focus on anything other than his palm next to the seam of her panties. 

When the song on the radio ends and another comes up, a slow and sensual tune, Jughead moves his hand and hooks a finger through her panties. Betty inhales sharply, suddenly very glad she decided to wear her one pair of sexy underwear; although, admittedly, she thought a moment later, when she felt the skin of his finger brush against her, it probably wasn’t a good idea after all because she was now acutely aware of just how soaked they were. 

He takes the lace and pulls it up, making it fit right between her lips. It’s a small, gentle bit of pressure, something to finally take the edge off, and she sighs blissfully at the feeling of it before he pulls it out and pushes the offending lace off to the side, leaving her completely exposed. She’s throbbing as the cool air hits her center and she wants to beg him to touch her, feeling like she’d do or say just about anything to get him to touch her again, but she has an inkling that he wouldn’t appreciate her begging that much.

Finally, Jughead runs a finger through her lips, lingering a little longer on her clit and momentarily circling the bundle of nerves there which practically makes her come undone right there and then. For a while, Jughead just moves his finger up and down through her folds, creating friction that has her chest rising in want, but it’s not _enough._

“Jughead,” she whispers, begging him. She doesn’t care at this point. She needs to feel some part of him inside of her. 

He looks at her and smiles simply, as if they’re two longtime friends having a conversation about the weather. “Yes?” 

“Touch me,” she begs. 

“I am touching you,” he informs her, giving a light flick against her clit and her eyes roll back into her head at the touch. When she gives him an exasperated look, he brings his finger down and presses it right against her entrance. “Or do you mean here?” 

“Yes. Yes, _please_ ,” she nods, nearly breathless. 

“You beg so pretty,” He mutters and moves his finger away from her, and Betty feels like she might just start sobbing, but before she can, he brings it up to her lips and presses it against her bottom one, running it against the softness and tugging it lightly before pulling away, making it go back into place. “God, you’re gorgeous.” 

And then he crosses his legs and places his hands on his knees. 

Betty looks at him, completely thrown off. Her mouth drops open as she looks at him in confusion. 

“Wha—?” 

He glances at her. “Yes, love?” The nickname does something to her; her chest flutters, but she doesn’t focus on that feeling. Instead she just stares at him, eyes wide and completely tortured, and then he smirks at her. “Did you want something?” 

She just continues to gape at him, speechless. 

“Tell me what you want, little one.” He reaches out and tucks a piece of her hair behind her ear. “Tell me what you want and I’ll give it to you.” 

She opens her mouth, but nothing comes out. She feels embarrassed and she can feel her cheeks heaten up. She’s thinking the words over in her head, the ones he wants her to say, but they’re so filthy. She’s never said anything like them before, especially not in a _begging_ form, and the thought is embarrassing; embarrassing, but so hot at the same time. 

“Oh, Betty,” he laughs gently. “You’re so innocent, aren’t you? I bet you’ve never been with someone like me before.” She doesn’t tell him that he’s right. “I’m not like whatever vanilla boys you’ve been with in the past. Can you deal with that? Is that something you can handle? Tell me now, because if you can’t, I’ll take you home and we’ll forget this night ever happened.” 

He’s being sincere, she can tell from the look in his eyes. He isn’t being cruel or rude. He’s letting her know that the next choice is hers. If she gives him what he wants, then he’ll give her what she wants and what he wants is her approval, her permission and consent.

So she gives it to him. 

She reaches out for his hand and takes it in her own. She takes the finger that he’d been using to toy with her and she pops it inside of her mouth, sucking on it deeply as she locks her eyes on his. The blueish-green of his iris’s, the calm color she saw in them earlier, looks nearly black now as he watches her. When she pulls his finger out of her mouth, she trails it down to her center and presses it against her clit for only a second before she moves it down to her entrance as she looks up to him through lust filled eyes. 

“Maybe I don’t want vanilla,” she says huskily. “So show me what you got.” 

And that’s all it takes. 

He presses his finger into her and she sighs out as she throws her head back, finally satisfied at the feeling of something inside of her. His pace is slow and steady as he pumps it in and out of her. She tries not to think about how long it’s been since she’s had something like this. Her and Reggie hadn’t been sexually active in a while and even when they were, it was usually right to the point. She never knew how amazing the simplicity of foreplay could be. 

He adds a second finger and Betty lets her legs fall a little more open as she looks out of the window to her left. The street lights and cars pass them by quickly and she finds it thrilling; the fact that they’re doing this out in the open in a way. Even Jughead’s driver, Ryan, is just a few inches aways from them, none the wiser to their escapade in the back seat. 

Jughead’s fingers inside of her go from slow to fast as he begins to pick up a pace. Betty reaches over and grips onto his thigh, needing something to hold onto. Her legs start to shake and her entire body seems to tighten up as an orgasm creeps up on her. She hardly ever had orgasms and definitely never this fast and it’s like a tidal wave rushing over her as her nails dig into Jughead’s thigh. She has to bite down on her lip harshly to stop herself from moaning out and exposing their tryst to Ryan. 

Jughead’s fingers guide her through her orgasm and when she finally goes slack, he removes them and wipes them on a random towel he pulls out from behind the passenger’s seat. When Betty gives him a curious look, he explains to her it’s for when he goes to the gym. Before anymore can be said, the car comes to a halt and Jughead’s telling her that they’ve arrived. 

He gets out of the car first, bidding Ryan a goodnight, and walks over to Betty’s side of the car to open up the door for her. As she gets out, her mouth drops open. They’re in front of an apartment building, that much is obvious enough, but it’s also very obvious that this apartment complex isn’t one she could ever afford. It looks absolutely pristine and her eyes gaze at it in awe. It looks like it’s made completely of glass and while that should be a little invasive, it just comes off as beautiful and classy. As Jughead leads her to the entrance, she wonders again just who the hell he is. She considers asking, but she’s scared that if she acts too interested in the obvious money he has, that he’ll think her a gold digger and send her home; right now that’s the last thing she wants. 

The lobby of the place is beautiful. The floor is a shiny white marble and a huge Christmas tree is set up and decorated. She looks around at everything and a part of her doesn’t even want to walk along the floor, too scared she’ll scuff it up in her heels.

Jughead nods to the security guard sitting behind a desk and the guard clicks a button that allows two glass doors to open up, allowing them access to the rest of the building. She tries to look around, but Jughead’s quick to lead her over to the elevators. 

“Nice place,” she says offhandedly.

Jughead hums out in consideration as they walk inside the elevator. “I suppose it is.” He clicks the button that says PH and Betty’s eyes widen. She might not know all the ways of the rich, but she knows enough to understand that Jughead is taking her to the penthouse of the building. She tries not to show just how bewildered she is by all of this, but she doesn’t think she’s fooling anyone if the smirk he gives her is anything to go by. 

It’s takes a while for them to finally reach their stop, but when they do Betty all but runs out of the elevator. She shouldn’t really be surprised by any of this considering Veronica Lodge is her best friend, but that doesn’t stop her from letting a small gasp leave her lips as she walks inside of the penthouse. 

It looks like the kind of place you only see in movies. Ceiling-to-floor windows make up the living room area and to the right of her there’s a staircase, somehow looking more grand than anything she’s ever seen before. It’s just as remarkable as the lobby had been in terms of cleanness; there’s not a thing out of place. 

She walks over to the windows in wonder and stares out at the city beneath her. From this high up she can see everything. She feels like she’s on top of the world and she might as well be in this moment. 

“Nice, isn’t it?” Jughead asks as he walks up behind her. “How you can see the entire city, but they can’t see you; makes you feel a little powerful, doesn’t it?” He trails a hand up her arm lightly and she can already feel her body responding to him. “You can do anything you want and no one will even know. They’re all so clueless.”

Betty turns around to face him. “Does it make _you_ feel powerful?”

He smiles. “There are very few things that don’t. I _am_ a man of power.” 

She doesn’t doubt if for a second and even just the thought lights up something inside of her. Jughead’s entire demeanour just screams assertive, dominant, commanding. For some reason she finds it incredibly sexy; to be standing in front of a man with obvious authority, and knowing that she can either follow suit and let him be in charge or take control herself. Right now, Betty doesn’t know which one she wants more, probably the former, if she’s being completely honest. 

“You like being in charge?” She asks, tone teasing. She hasn’t done this in so long, just flirt with someone, and it’s exhilarating. 

“Undoubtedly.” 

“Then be in charge,” she whispers. “Show me what it’s like to have all that power.” 

As soon as the words leave her lips, he’s on her. Rough, large hands wrap around her waist and twist into her hair, pulling her closer to him until their bodies are right up against each other once again. His chest is hard, defined, and from where she’s pressed against it, she swears she can feel his heartbeat through his shirt. 

He presses his lips to hers and Betty closes her eyes, reveling in the feeling of them. They’re a little chapped, but still unbelievably soft. He kisses her like it’s the last thing he’ll ever do and Betty sighs into it, letting her mouth fall open and he does the same. She’s never actually tongue kissed anyone before, not even Reggie, but the feeling of Jughead’s tongue inside of her mouth is intoxicating. He tastes slightly like alcohol and peanuts, and a toothpaste. It’s a taste that has her needing more. 

All too soon he pulls away from her lips to kiss down her neck and around the curve of her breasts. The dress she’s wearing pushes them up and makes them look fuller, something that he takes advantage of as he yanks it down, exposing her chest to him completely. The cool air hits them and her nipples harden almost immediately under his watchful gaze. 

He takes one of her nipples into his mouth, sucking on it gently before clasping his teeth onto it and pulling harshly. Betty hisses out in pain but as soon as he pulls off, immediate pleasure takes over her body. He repeats this action to the other one and although she’s expecting it, the tugging sensation still has her biting at her own lip. 

He’s practically on his knees now as he continues to slide the rest of the dress down until it’s a puddle on the floor. Betty steps out of it, her heels clicking against the marble. She’s clad in her underwear now, her _soaked_ underwear, and Jughead wastes no time in taking them off as well, tossing them somewhere to the side in a haste. 

His eyes marvel over her as he stands up to his full length again. 

“God,” he whispers out into the quiet room, “you really are beautiful.” 

It’s not the first time she’s been called that, not even from him, but her cheeks still redden at the compliment.

“Thank you,” she says quietly, eyes locked on the floor.

Jughead reaches out and places a finger onto her chin, making her look him in the eyes. 

“Don’t look down when you talk to me,” he instructs, but it’s not in a cold tone. It’s gentle, like everything else he’s said tonight despite the situation. “Be confident in your answers. You are beautiful, Betty. Don’t be shy about it.” She nods at his words as they circle around her. His voice sounds like a dream and she feels like she could listen to it forever. 

He presses another kiss to her lips, but this time it’s a soft, quick peck as if he’s reassuring her. 

“Do you want this?” He asks her. “Do you want _me_?” 

She doesn’t even think before she nods her head in confirmation. Right now it feels like she’s never wanted anything more in her entire life. She wonders if that’s just the impact he has on people. 

He takes off his shirt in one swift motion and Betty runs her eyes over his chest. He’s lean and built, not buff, but there’s definitely muscle on him. Now that she can see his arms, she can see the way they flex as he brings them up and then down again, his biceps aren’t huge or anything, but they are well-defined and her eyes are fixated on them, on the veins that pop as he moves. 

He walks closer towards her as she moves back until she’s pressed up against the glass behind her. Jughead smirks and with an incredible speed, he twirls her around so that her front is against the window. 

“Look at you,” he whispers into her ear hotly. “Exposed to the entire city and yet I’m the only one who can see you; you’re all mine right now.” 

His tone sends chills down her spine and she arches back into his touch. His wraps a hand around her chin and tilts her head back, allowing her to rest it against his shoulder as he presses a kiss to her jaw. 

She hears the sound of a zipper and the tearing of something, a condom, and she almost laughs at how it’s such a typical guy thing to carry one around at all times. She’s thankful for it in this moment, though. 

Once Jughead slides the condom onto his length, he positions himself at her entrance. He doesn’t slide in just yet, and Betty isn’t even surprised. He just holds himself in place like they have all the time in the world, and maybe they do. But right now Betty isn’t willing to be patient. 

She pushes back against him and shrieks in complete shock when he brings a hand down onto her ass sharply; her skin starting to sting in the best way possible. 

“You’re not very good at being patient, are you?” He asks and she can practically hear the laughter in his voice. 

“No,” she admits, actually earning a laugh from him.

“Then beg for it.” 

This time she doesn’t even pause like she had in the car. All of the embarrassment she’d felt earlier disappears at once. 

“Please fuck me,” she says, using her best pouty voice and hoping it comes across as sexy instead of childish. “Please, Jughead.” 

“Well, since you asked so nicely.” 

It’s all the warning she has before he slams into her, sliding into her completely in just one stroke. She screams out at the feeling, but she finally feels like she can breathe again. She hadn’t seen his cock, but she can feel it and it’s perfect. He fits inside of her perfectly and her eyes nearly roll back at the fullness of him.

Betty reaches out for the glass to hold onto, but Jughead grabs her hands in one of his and pins them above her head as he thrusts in and out of her at a slow but deep pace. 

“You feel so fucking good,” he hisses out after one particularly sharp thrust. The sound of skin hitting skin fills the room and while that may have made her uncomfortable at one point, she’s absolutely thriving for it right now. 

She’s never had sex standing up and she can feel her legs starting to give up on her as Jughead continues pounding into her. Almost as if he can sense this, he spins her around and picks her up, allowing her to wrap her legs around him as she squeals at the sudden action. 

She giggles as he carries her up the stairs effortlessly as if she weighs nearly nothing. She’s not sure where they’re going until he pushes open a door with his foot and throws her onto what might just be the softest bed she’s ever been on. 

She looks around and realizes that they must be in his room. Windows just like the ones in the living room take up the entire room and the moonlight shines into the room almost poetically. 

Jughead stands by the edge of the bed and leans down to take off Betty’s heels. His fingers tickle her ankles as he undoes the straps and she laughs at the feeling, causing him to smile back up at her. It’s crazy how she knows nothing about this man and yet she feels oddly comforted by his very presence.

When he’s tossed her shoes to the side, he crawls up the bed and hovers just above where Betty’s laid into the bed. 

“You really are beautiful,” he whispers to her again as he caresses her cheek with a feather light touch. She smiles as she leans into the touch. He’s attentive and he’s sweet. She’s not sure if that’s how one night stands usually act, but she finds herself loving it. If there was anyone she could have ever imagined letting loose with, she’s sure they still wouldn’t have come close to Jughead. 

He leans down and presses a kiss to her neck, seeming to have some kind of fixation with it. The kisses are light this time, though; nothing like the punishing ones he’d been peppering her with earlier. She leans into them, allowing more of herself to him, all of herself if that’s what he wants. She can’t imagine that she wouldn’t give him anything he wanted in this moment. 

The kisses on her neck begin to move down to her chest, where he sucks on the top of her breast a bit harshly. It feels amazing though and she practically falls apart at it. When he pulls away, she looks down at the spot he’d currently been sucking on. A purple bruise covers the skin there and she laughs. She’s never had a hickey before a day in her life, but she finds herself liking the way it looks on her, especially there where it’s almost like a secret between the two of them. 

Jughead continues kissing down to her navel, hands squeezing her hips tightly before running themselves over her skin as if he’s trying to remember just how she feels. His hands on her drive her crazy for reasons she doesn’t quite understand. They’re big, rough, and strong. They’re different from anything she’s ever felt before, _he’s_ different from anything she’s ever had before. 

His hands move down to her thighs and squeeze them tightly before spreading open her legs, baring her to him completely. It’s so vulnerable, to have him seeing all of her spread out, but it’s thrilling at the same time. 

When he has her just the way he wants her, he moves back up, hovering over her body once again as he pushes himself into her, slowly this time. She sighs out at the feeling of him stretching her out; now that he does it slower, it’s like she can suddenly feel him _everywhere_. He rolls his hips into her with a steady pace that lets her know he has no concerns about time and for once, neither does she. It’s just the two of them, basked in the moonlight and the night feels like it could go on forever. 

Their bodies are pressed so tightly together that it feels like nothing could ever get between them, at least not now. With shaky hands, she tries to reach out for his face, wanting to hold onto something, but his hand grabs both of hers and pins them down to the mattress above her head, just like he’d done earlier on the glass. 

“If I had it my way,” he whispers in her ear as he thrusts into her, “I’d tie your pretty little hands up and you’d be completely under my will.” 

Betty moans at the words, wishing more than anything she could tell him to do that. She _wants_ him to do it in fact. Even just the thought of it is driving her wild. As it is though, she says nothing, just focuses on the feeling of his hand around both of hers, engulfing her wrists completely. 

“I am,” she tells him, referring to being under his will, because she _is_. All she sees is Jughead right now, all she feels is Jughead and she thinks she’d do anything to keep it that way for as long as possible. 

He looks at her, pupils blown wide with lust, like he’s thinking something over. Betty’s about to ask what he’s thinking whenever he pulls out of her and lets go of her hands. She lets out a gasp at the sudden emptiness she feels as she loses him, but he flips her over onto her stomach and then she’s smirking into the mattress. 

“Okay?” Jughead asks her in reference to the new position. 

Betty nods. “Yes.” 

She arches her back as she presses her face into one of the soft pillows and when Jughead lets out a low chuckle at her eagerness she has to bite her lip to stop from grinning like a maniac. It’s only a sex position, but something about it is just so exciting. 

When Jughead finally pushes into her, it’s different. The angle is different and it allows him to slide into her deeper and she clenches her fist into the silk sheets underneath her. In one long stroke, he’s seated fully inside of her where he stays for a few moments before pulling out nearly completely, leaving only the very tip of himself inside of her. 

She pushes back against him, knowing what’s going to come from it and when the harsh slap comes down onto her ass, she bites the pillow to muffle her moan. 

“You like that, don’t you?” Jughead asks, almost in awe. “You’re a fucking minx.” 

“Mhm,” Betty hums. In all honesty, she doesn’t know where any of this is coming from. She’s never done anything like this before and it’s kind of taking her by surprise. 

“You look so innocent,” he says as he pushes back into her. “Who would have known?” 

“Now you do,” she tells him. “Do you like it?” 

He leans forward, still completely inside of her, and bites down on her neck. Betty screams, the feeling being too much and yet _just what she needs_. 

“I love it.” 

And then he’s pounding into her at a rough pace again. Betty’s moans fill the room as Jughead tangles his hands into her hair and pulls back, forcing her to rise up and press her back against his chest. He snakes one hand around her stomach, letting it travel down to her clit as he circles it lightly with a finger. The other hand wraps itself around her neck and turns her face towards him, allowing him to kiss her; it’s filthy, more teeth and tongue than anything, but it’s perfect. The feeling of him inside of her, of his fingers toying with her, and his mouth on hers make her unravel as she comes with a shout for the second time that night. 

Jughead’s thrusts become sloppy and before she knows it, he’s coming as well with a groan that sounds so hot it should be illegal. He stays inside of her for a few seconds after their orgasms, both of them panting and sweating, completely lost in the moment. 

When they’ve both finally calmed down and their breathing has evened out, he pulls out of her and collapses onto the right side of the bed. 

“So,” Betty drags out as she lays down next to him, “was that letting loose enough for you?” 

Jughead laughs loudly before pulling her on top of him and kissing her as if he’d done it a million times before.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiiiii, guys. I finally wrote a new chapter. *sighs*
> 
> So yeah, I've kind of stopped watching Riverdale, but I still really love these characters and I want to write about them and explore them and so here I am. There are a few relationships I want to explore that aren't in canon, which you'll realize when you read this chapter and I just think it'll be a lot of fun since I won't have the show swaying my decisions to explore them. (NOT BETTY AND JUGHEAD THOUGH. THOSE TWO WILL ALWAYS ONLY BE FOR EACH OTHER.) 
> 
> Anyway I hope you guys are still interested in this story because I have a lot planned for it. :) 
> 
> No beta so all mistakes are mine. Enjoy. <3

Sunlight shines in through the windows and Betty’s eyes squeeze together tightly before fluttering open. When she opens them, she looks around hazily at the room she’s in. She then sits up straight and throws herself against the headboard of the bed, suddenly wide awake. This isn’t her room, this isn’t her apartment. She’s about to do something drastic, like scream or cry, when she glances to the side and sees her high heels thrown across the room. 

“Shit,” she whispers to herself. Last night hadn’t been a dream. It had happened. Betty Cooper had actually had a one night stand with a stranger. She remembers everything, of course she does, she wasn’t drunk or anything. She remembers his laughter, his words, the feeling of him inside of her. Granted, she can _still_ feel him as she moves off the bed, a dull ache in between her legs. It had been so long since she’d had actual good sex and Jughead was a passionate lover, that much was clear enough. She walks over to her shoes and curses when she realizes that her dress and underwear are still downstairs. She spares a glances around the room, trying to find anything to cover herself up with, and she almost does a happy dance when she spots a white crew neck sweater draped across a chair. She picks it up and pulls it over herself as she tries not to focus on just how much it smells like him. 

She picks up her shoes from the floor and makes her way out of the room, walking down the staircase and trying not to think about how it had felt as Jughead had carried her up them yesterday. As she gets closer to the first floor of the penthouse, she begins to hear his voice. He sounds like he’s arguing with someone over a phone call and Betty tries not to listen in. It’s none of her business. 

As she reaches the last step, she looks for where Jughead had thrown her clothes off to last night, but she doesn’t see her dress nor her underwear. She considers just creeping out through his front door, Veronica won’t mind the missing dress as long as Betty brings back the Louboutin's. Before she can even take a single step though, Jughead walks into her eye view. 

“Fix it,” he barks down the line before pocketing his phone into his pants. The frown on his face completely disappears as he looks at her with a gentle smile. “Good morning, Betty. Or perhaps afternoon would be better.” 

Betty just looks at him. He looks absolutely handsome in a pair of sweats and a plain black shirt. His hair is a bit wet, so she figures he must have woken up early and showered. She’s suddenly aware of how absolutely messy she must look with last night’s makeup still on her face and no doubt she has a massive case of bedhead. 

“What time is it?” She asks. 

“A little past one.” 

Her eyes widen. _One?_ Veronica was going to kill her. She hadn’t even brought her phone with her over to Jughead’s, because Archie had been holding onto it for her at the club. Her friends were probably going insane thinking about where she was. 

“I need to go,” Betty rushes out. “Do you know where my clothes are?” 

Jughead looks taken aback by her abruptness, but he slowly nods. 

“Yeah, I put them in the washer so they’d be clean for you to take home. It’ll probably be another thirty minutes before they’re done.” 

Thirty minutes? Betty didn’t have thirty minutes. She didn’t even have five minutes. She gives him a torn look, trying to convey how absolutely important it is that she leave right this instant. Jughead must seem to get it because he walks over to a different room before emerging back with a pair of sweats and house shoes that both look two sizes too big. 

“They probably won’t fit you, but you can take them. At least you won’t have to walk around the city in my sweater and your heels.” 

Her cheeks redden. “I could always return them to you?” She doesn’t know how this works. It’s a one night stand, nothing more. One night stands aren’t supposed to see each other multiple times, but she’d feel badly if she kept his clothes; especially because she’d read the label on the sweater and she knows it wasn’t cheap. 

“You don’t need to do that,” he tells her with a smile. “The sweater looks nice on you.” 

The sweater completely swallows her up, but she’s sure it’s just a line he says to everyone. Either way she shakes her head at the words. 

“No, really. I’d feel wrong keeping it.” Even as she says the words, she wishes she could take them back. The sweater is one of the most comfortable things she’s ever worn and a part of her wishes she’d never have to take it off.

He purses his lips, obviously not used to being argued with. “Fine. If you really want to return it to me then stop by the club any time this week. I’ll be there.” 

“The club?” She asks, confused. 

He nods. “From last night. I own it.” 

“You… own it?” The news is absolutely startling to her. Suddenly it makes sense; the way the bartender hadn’t even questioned Jughead’s order of the drinks even though he knew Betty was underage, the way he had rushed to get the drinks to them even though he was in the middle of making someone else’s. The driver, the penthouse, it all makes sense. 

“Mhm,” he nods. “Well, technically my sister does but since I gave her the money… details. ” 

Betty nods, slightly dazed. She wants to ask where _he_ got the money for that, but decides against it. It’s not like it really matters. 

“Well,” she clears her throat as she unfolds the sweats he’d given her, very aware of his eyes on her. “I’ll stop by sometime this week then.” She pauses as she stands up straight, not really sure what to say. Does she thank him for last night? Do people even do that? Does she just leave? “Bye.” 

“You aren’t even dressed yet,” he says with an eyeroll. “Do you want my driver to take you home?” Jughead asks as she turns away from him in embarrassment. “It wouldn’t be an issue.” 

“Oh, no. That’s okay. Really. I’m fine.” 

His eyes narrowed. “Well, what’s your form of transportation then? You didn’t bring a purse and there aren’t pockets on your dress so I know you don’t have cash or a card on you. Do you plan on walking back to wherever it is you live?” 

Betty’s mouth goes dry. She actually didn’t have a plan. She hadn’t thought that far ahead if she’s being completely honest. 

“I…” 

Jughead turns away from her and walks over to what she assumes is the kitchen. When he comes back, he’s holding three hundreds in his hand. 

“Here. Take this and get yourself a cab and some food.” 

Betty looks at the money with wide eyes. Three hundred dollars? That was way more than enough for a taxi and food. That was food for a whole three weeks in her book. 

“Jughead,” she starts as she shakes her head, “this is way too much.” 

He smiles at her in a sort of condescending way. “If I gave you, let’s say, twenty dollars, you’d probably just go to the nearest McDonald’s and get yourself something off of their disgusting breakfast menu, wouldn’t you?” 

Betty glares at him. “I like McDonald’s breakfast.” She realizes how ridiculous this must look. She’s standing in the middle of a complete stranger’s penthouse, half naked, and defending her love for McDonalds. 

“Of course you do, but that’s not my point. I want you to take this money and treat yourself to something _good_ , something different.” 

“Why?” She asks, looking back at the money as if she’s never seen so much in her entire life. 

Jughead tilts his head and the same tight lipped look crosses over it. “Because I want you to.” 

Her lips part at the sensual way he says the words. They’re just talking about breakfast for God’s sake, but he says the sentence as if she’ll be pleasing him personally if she does this. 

“Oh,” she whispers and clutches onto the bills a little tighter. “Do you want me to like, pay you back or something? I don’t really have a job right now so it might be kinda hard but-.” 

Jughead just raises an eyebrow in amusement as Betty’s sentence trails off. 

“Does it look like I care about three hundred dollars?” He says it as if it’s nothing to him and maybe it’s not. “I don’t want you to pay me back, Betty. That’s not what this is.” 

“What is it then?” 

His eyes darken as he takes a step closer to her. Her heart races against her chest. A small part of her brain is yelling at her, telling her that Jughead’s basically just _paid_ her for sex, but a bigger part of it is reminding her that that’s not what this is at all. In fact, she’s not even sure she knows what any of this is. It doesn’t feel like a normal one night stand and she’s starting to love that fact. 

Jughead places a hand on her neck and his touch is cool against her warm skin as it travels up to cup her cheek. Betty can’t help the way she leans into him almost automatically. 

“You know,” he whispers out, “I really should punish you. Walking down here in just my sweater and nothing else. I was in the middle of a very important phone call, Betty.” Her eyes widen and she suddenly goes completely still. “That’s rude, isn’t it? To interrupt phone calls.” 

“I’m sorry,” she croaks out, her throat suddenly very dry. She sees the light in his eyes and she knows this is a game they’re playing right now, but a part of her actually _is_ sorry. Still though, she bats her eyelashes at him and bites her lip. “I really didn’t mean to.” 

“Oh, I know.” He strokes her cheek with his thumb and she steps closer to him, wanting to feel him pressed up against her. He takes a small step back and she frowns up at him. “You were just going to walk out of here, weren’t you?” When she doesn’t immediately answer, the grip on her face loosens and she nearly cries out at the loss. Somehow it feels like losing his touch _is_ the punishment. 

“I’m sorry,” she repeats earnestly. “I didn’t know.” 

“I know,” he coos at her. “You should really work on your manners.” 

Heat pools between her legs at his words, at the strict yet soft way he says them. She wasn’t expecting _this_ to be the outcome of this conversation, but she finds herself giddy over the fact that it is. She didn’t want to say goodbye to Jughead just yet, even though she knows just how weird that is. She doesn’t know him, not really. But God, she wants to. 

“I’ve never done this before.” She says it playfully, but she means it. She’s never had a one night stand before and for some reason, she really needs Jughead to know that; to understand that she has no clue what she’s doing with him, but that she wants to figure it out. 

“Aren’t you just such a good girl?” He asks as he steps closer to her and wraps a hand around her waist, pressing them chest to chest. His hand slides up underneath the sweater and she’s suddenly hyper aware of the fact that she isn’t wearing any underwear. She’s literally just in Jughead’s sweater. If he notices this, he doesn’t say anything or even acknowledge the fact. His hands stays on her hips, uncaring. 

“Do you think so?” She tilts her head. “I don’t think good girls do things like this.” 

“Like what?” 

She looks up into his eyes, the playful glint still there in them. She sinks down onto her knees and his eyes widen as he watches her. She likes it, the way he honest to God looks thrown off by her actions. She thinks that he’s a man who isn’t so often shocked and it’s nice to be the one to be able to do it to him. 

He’s wearing sweats, which is more than favorable in her opinion as she undoes the drawstring and pulls them down his hips. She remembers the length and girth of him perfectly, but seeing him up close this way still intimidates her; intimidates and excites. She used to laugh at Ronnie when her best friend would read those super trashy novels about women whose mouth’s would water at the sight of a man’s cock in front of them, but _holy shit_ if Betty doesn’t completely understand it now. 

She takes Jughead into her hand and for a split second she’s a little lost at what to do. She’s done this before, of course she has, but sloppy blow jobs in order to get her ex boyfriend going seemed so juvenile compared to this. She’s not doing this to get him turned on, she’s doing this because she _wants_ to, because she wants him to feel good; because whatever _this_ is, it’s fun and she wants it to continue. 

Jughead runs a hand through her hair, comforting, and it’s all she needs as she leans forward and takes the tip of him inside of her mouth as she brings her hand down to cover the rest of his length. He tastes good, salty but a little sweet, like he cares about what he puts inside of his body. She’s never been more thankful for healthy eating habits before. 

The grip on her hair tightens a little bit and she smirks around him as she bobs her head up and down. She does this a few more times before pulling off and licking the entire length of him and then twirling her tongue around the tip of him. She’s about to take him inside of her mouth again when he pulls her head back gently. She looks up at him, eyes wide in confusion. 

“Let me fuck your mouth,” he says, all breathless and low. 

Her mouth drops open, but it’s more from surprise than anything else. She knows the phrase, but she’s never actually let someone do it to her before. She’s only ever been with people that Jughead classified as “vanilla” and vanilla boys definitely don’t ask you to let them fuck your mouth. 

Still though, that doesn’t stop her from letting her jaw go slack as she nods in consent. It’s all he needs before he’s pushing himself into her and this time it feels a little different. It’s different to have him be the one controlling how this goes. She expects him to be a little rough, but he isn’t. His movements are slow and deep and her eyes start to water as she feels the tip of him get closer to the back of her throat. She breathes in through her nose, a little tip Ronnie had told her about years ago, and it helps. 

“If you don’t want me to come in your mouth, you better pull off now.” He lets go of his hands in her hair, allowing her to move away if she wants, but she doesn’t. She stays in place and even takes him deeper into her mouth. 

His hips stutter and then she can taste him, all of him, going down her throat. She swallows around him and the feeling of it makes him groan out above her. She lets him finish before she’s pulling off of him slowly, making sure to clean him off as best as she can. When she’s done, she looks up at him and licks her lips. 

The look in his eyes is wild as he leans down and picks her up quickly, tossing her over his shoulder. She squeals out in surprise and then giggles at the complete cliche of it all. He must take notice of why she’s laughing to herself, because he lands a harsh slap onto her bottom and she gasps out, completely aware of how she’s _still_ not wearing any underwear. 

She’s placed onto the island in the kitchen and the coolness of the marble makes her shudder as her skin comes in contact with it. 

Jughead spreads her legs and gets down on his own knees. She feels a bit embarrassed as she’s laid completely bare in front of him. She’s used to sex in dark rooms before bedtime, not in the middle of the day in a well lit kitchen and it makes her feel a bit self conscious.

“You’re gorgeous,” he tells her and he’s looking at her face as he says it, eyes earnest and completely focused on her despite the fact that she’s half naked in front of him. “Don’t ever doubt that.” 

“Okay,” she whispers. 

And then he’s leaning forward. With one hand, he runs two fingers through her folds and Betty shudders, the feeling and the memories from the night before flooding over her. He leans forward and places both of his hands on her legs, making sure to keep them spread open before him. He pulls her forward, bringing her center closer to his face and then his tongue is on her clit, gentle and soft as if it’s a whispering touch. It feels feather light, but yet it still manages to make her entire body feels like it’s on fire. Her back arches up as she wraps one hand through his hair and the other she places behind her, trying to steady herself. 

As he eats her out like it’s the last thing he’ll ever do, he brings his hand over and presses one finger inside of her, curling it up and Betty sighs out at the feeling as he presses another one inside of her. The pleasure is twice as good and before she knows it, she’s coming undone on his tongue, her entire body shuddering. 

“Fuck me,” she pants out, her chest rising and falling rapidly. “Please, Jughead, fuck me.”

It’s all he needs to hear before he’s standing up and pushing down his sweats all the way. He pushes himself into her in one thrust and Betty moans out at the feeling of having him inside of her again. She’s still a little sore from the night before, but having him inside of her once more feels like heaven. His thrusts are fast and rough and she wraps her legs around his waist tightly as he pounds into her. 

“Fuck, you’re still so fucking tight,” he moans into her neck and Betty smirks, knowing how it must be driving him wild. She clenches around him and he pulls back to look at her in surprise, but she just winks at him. She might not be as experienced as him, but she’s picked up a few tricks on how to make men feel good. 

He smirks at her playful attitude and leans forward to connect their lips. He licks at her lips and she parts them for him happily. The kiss is filthy, their tongues intertwining with one another and Betty’s never felt more connected to anyone before. Every part of her is wrapped up in him, their bodies are tied together and it’s absolutely intoxicating. 

His hands trail down her bare legs and he lifts them up a little higher, allowing himself to slide a little deeper inside of her and she moans out into his mouth. He’s angled just right and she knows she’s about to come again.

“I’m close,” she pants against his lips and he just nods quickly, a sign that lets her know that he is too. Neither one of them last that much longer before they’re both coming, arms still wrapped around each other tightly. 

“So… was that what you call a punishment?” Betty asks when she’s able to breathe properly again, their conversation from earlier coming back into her mind. 

Jughead laughs loudly as he slips out of her and she tries not to frown at the way she immediately starts to miss the feeling of him inside of her. 

“Trust me, you’ll know when it’s a punishment.” He looks at something behind her before smiling back at her. “My driver will take you home now.” 

It doesn’t feel like she’s being kicked out, but a part of her still feels a bit embarrassed about all of this and the way he seems so at ease with just telling her to leave. 

“Okay,” she whispers as she hops off the countertop. She wobbles slightly on her legs and Jughead reaches out to steady her. “Thanks.” 

He nods and hands her the sweats and house shoes from earlier. He walks out of the kitchen and Betty quickly puts on the sweats before following him into what seems to look like a study. He’s scribbling down on something and she watches him silently. 

“Here,” he says, standing up straight as he walks back over to her and hands her a card. “It’s my business card. I wrote my personal number on it for you. If you ever need anything, just call me.” 

It seems a little personal. Does he give his card to all of his one night stands? She doesn’t think that’s something people do, but then again she doesn’t know the first thing about this guy. 

She looks at the shiny black card and the name written across it in cursive. 

_Forsythe Pendleton Jones II._

“Told you the nickname was better,” he says with a smile and Betty just nods. He puts a hand on her back and walks her over to the elevator. “Take care, Betty.” 

He presses a kiss onto her cheek before she steps into the elevator. The last thing she sees before the doors close are his eyes staring at her as if he can see right into her very soul. 

She lets out a breath once the doors close and reaches into the pocket of the sweats to put his card in it. It’s only then that she realizes the three hundred dollars sit perfectly inside of the pocket as if they had been placed there purposely. 

.

.

.

“Where the hell have you been?” Veronica shouts as Betty walks into their apartment. She had been hoping that her friend would have stayed the night at Archie’s as she sometimes did, but luck was apparently not on her side. “Archie and I thought you had been kidnapped!” Sure enough, her redheaded best friend walks out of the kitchen with a phone in his hand. 

“We were thirty minutes away from calling the cops, Betty! Seriously. What the hell is your deal?” 

“Calm down, V,” Betty says as she lifts up the bags in her hands. “I got us breakfast from that bakery you like so much.” 

“Donnie’s?” Veronica asks, eyes raised. “No offense, Betty, but that place is really expensive. Where’d you…?” She pauses as her eyes rake over her best friend’s outfit. “Whose clothes are you wearing? Is that… oh my fucking God. Are you wearing a Burberry sweater?” She rushes forward to check the tag on the back of the sweater and gasps when she realizes that it is in fact from Burberry. “Where the hell were you last night, B?” 

Betty bites at her lip and looks towards Archie who’s starting to look like he’d rather be anywhere else than here. 

“I uh…,” he lifts up his phone. “I gotta go.” Veronica waves him off, her attention too focused on Betty to even care about him. 

Betty reaches into one of the bags and pulls out a muffin, handing it to Archie. He takes it and smiles at her before walking out of the apartment. 

“Okay, seriously, B. Spill. Who were you with? Did you hook up with someone?” When Betty doesn’t say anything, Veronica screeches and presses her hands against her chest. “Oh, my God! You did. You totally did! Who was he? Was he hot? Was he good in bed?” Betty sighs and places the bags onto the kitchen counter. “Wait… did he like pay you to have sex with him? Is that where you got the money for breakfast? B, are you… are you like an escort now?” 

“What?” Betty exclaimed. “No! I just- he just- it was weird, Ronnie. It wasn’t like that. I think he just wanted to see that I was taken care of for the day or something, you know?” 

Her best friend nods, but there’s a look of wonder on her face now. 

“Do you know who he was?” 

“His name’s Jughead Jones. His sister owns the club we were at last night. That’s all I really know.” She picks at a banana nut muffin she’d gotten for herself. She doesn’t really want to go into detail about this with Veronica. Normally she’d be all for sharing information with her best friend, but this seems a little different. She wants to keep what happened last night and this morning to herself. 

“Was he nice?” Veronica asks. “He was good to you?” 

“Yeah, V. He was really nice.” And he had been. It’s not like they had talked or anything of the sort, but he’d been a considerate lover and she’s pretty sure that’s what Veronica is referring to. “It was… it was nice.” 

“Oh yeah? Just how nice was it?” Veronica sits down next to her at the bar and grabs a scone for herself. “Are we talking like earth shattering here or just good rebound sex?” 

She knows her answer right away. Sex with Jughead had been earth shattering and she has a feeling that she didn’t even scratch the surface of what it was like to be his lover. A part of her is a little jealous of the people who have been able to experience all of him. Still though, she doesn’t want to admit this to Veronica. She feels like she’s betraying Reggie if she admits to just how good sex with Jughead had been. 

A faint ache erupts throughout her chest at the thought of her ex. She hadn’t meant to sleep with anyone else and even though she’d wanted it, the reality of what happened was starting to sink in and the post sex bliss was starting to fade and a hollow, ugly feeling was creeping into her chest. She couldn’t even blame alcohol on her actions, because she had been completely sober. Truth was, no matter how much she tried to deny it, she had wanted to sleep with Jughead. She _had_ slept with him. Twice. If Reggie found out… God, he’d never want her back. 

Her face must convey her thoughts because Veronica reaches out and covers Betty’s hand with her own, comforting. 

“You’re allowed to have fun and explore the different things out there,” Veronica reminds her. “You’re single. You’re not committed to anyone. You don’t owe anyone _anything._ It’s hard to realize that, but you didn’t do anything wrong last night, okay? Don’t beat yourself up over this. Nothing bad happened.” 

“Then why do I feel like I did something horrible?” She pushes her muffin away as her eyes start to water. 

“Because you love Reggie; present tense, not past. You still love him and you’re not over him and that’s why it feels so bad. It’s tough and it’s going to hurt for a while and you’re going to blame yourself as if you did something wrong, but you have to remember that you didn’t. It’s all a part of the moving on process. I know you wish you could take it back, but it’s just one of the things that’s going to help you move on. Trust me.”

Betty nods, but she doesn’t tell Veronica that she’s wrong. Despite everything, she doesn’t want to take last night back. If anything, she wishes she could relive it all over again. She wonders how terrible of a person that makes her. 

“Now,” Veronica says, sitting up straighter and putting on a smile, “I have us booked for mani and pedis later on this afternoon so go take a shower and put on some clothes that fit. Just because you feel bad, that doesn’t mean you need to look bad.” 

Betty rolls her eyes, but she smiles anyway. Veronica had an odd way of being there for people, but she tried her best and Betty wouldn’t trade her for the world. 

.

.

.

Her nails look pretty. She’d gone for a light pink, nearly nude, and she likes the way they look on her. She didn’t get them done often, but when she did, they always managed to make her feel like a different person; more confident somehow. It was strange how the smallest things could do that for a person. 

She and Veronica are walking down the street back to their apartment, arm in arm, and it feels good to be getting some fresh air. They’re both sipping on drinks from Starbucks and Betty feels like a walking stereotype, but she doesn’t care. She feels light and happy and it’s all thanks to her best friend. 

“I was thinking we could go see a movie later,” Veronica tells her. “Just me and you. A girl’s night!”

“You sure you don’t want Archie tagging along?” Betty jokes, but Veronica frowns. “What’s wrong?” 

Her best friend shrugs, but Betty can tell that something’s really bothering her. “I’m tired of boys our age, aren’t you?” She gives Veronica a weird stare, not understanding where this is coming from. “It’s just like… if you like me then say something about it, you know? Last night at the club, I made it very clear that I was interested and he just… blew me off. Just like he always does.” 

Betty’s eyebrows furrow. She hadn't known this. As far as she was concerned, both of them liked to play this “I don’t like you” game. She wasn’t aware that Veronica was starting to accept her feelings. 

“Are you sure he understood what you were trying to get across? You know how dense Archie can be sometimes.” 

Veronica rolls her eyes. “I kissed him.” 

“What?” Betty screeches. “You kissed him and you’re barely telling me this now? What the hell, V!” 

“Well, it’s not like I’d want to advertise kissing him since he kind of pushed me away and told me that I was drunk and he liked me, but ‘not like that’.” 

Betty looks at her in confusion and shakes her head. “No way.” Archie liked Veronica, she knew he did. It was as clear as day. “That doesn’t make sense.” 

“Yeah, well.” Veronica just shrugs but Betty can tell that it’s bothering her more than she lets on. “It’s a good thing you went missing when you did, because that’s the only thing that kept it from getting really awkward really quick.” 

Betty squeezes Veronica closer to her. 

“Archie’s an idiot if he doesn’t like you back, V. Don’t worry. You’re going to meet your older person that you dream of and they’re going to sweep you off your feet.” 

“Think your mystery man from last night has any single friends?” 

The both of them laugh and Betty just shakes her head. 

“I don’t think guys typically go around arranging dates for their one night stand’s friends.” 

“Worth a shot,” Veronica jokes. 

They finally reach their apartment and as they walk inside, Betty’s stopped by the doorman, Walter. 

“Miss Cooper, you received a package while you were gone.” 

“Oh,” she says as Walter hands her a small box. “Thank you. Do you know who it was from?” 

“No, ma’am. Can’t say that I recognized him, he did leave a card though.” 

Betty frowns but nods anyway. 

“Were you expecting anything?” Veronica asks her as she looks down at the package in Betty’s hands with interest. 

“No, not that I know of.” 

The box is wrapped with a red bow around it and Betty undoes it, not wanting to wait any longer to see what’s inside. She pulls off the bow and opens it up, gasping at the sight in front of her. It’s a beautiful necklace with a diamond sunflower pendant on it. It gleams in the light and Betty reaches out to touch it gently, scared that she might ruin it if she’s too rough.

“Holy shit,” Veronica whispers in awe. “Betty, that’s from Harry Winston’s Sunflower collection. Who the hell sent you that?” 

The card in her hand feels heavier than anything she’s ever held as she opens it up and reads the words printed on it in elegant writing. 

_Betty, thank you for a wonderful night. I hope when you wear this, you think of me. -J. Jones._

“I don’t think one night stands do _this_ either,” Veronica says as she reads the note over Betty’s shoulder. “Seriously, Betty. Who the hell did you meet?” 

“I have no clue.” 

But hell if she doesn’t want to find out.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to say thank you to everyone who comments and leaves kudos on this fic. I truly wasn't expecting for this fic to get as much love as it does because of the trope (I know a lot of people aren't into the whole sugar daddy thing) but holy shit. YOU GUYS ARE SO SWEET. To those of you who are just reading this because it's ME writing even though it's not your usual cup of tea, that makes my heart so damn happy. :') 
> 
> So to those of you who want Reggie GONE... ;) 
> 
> And to those of you who are actually commenting what kinds of kinks you want me to explore, I'm reading your comments and they're going to happen! I have a few interesting ones that I think will be very fun to try writing. 
> 
> Anyway I hope you guys enjoy this chapter right now. No beta so all mistakes are mine. <3

Veronica had been very adamant that Betty just accept the necklace and let everything else go. _‘That’s what I would do,’_ Veronica had pouted to her as she tried to get Betty to let her try on the necklace. _‘Seriously. If you aren’t going to wear it then give it to me! I’ll appreciate this beauty. You seriously have no taste, Betty. It’s absolutely tragic.’_

But Betty couldn’t even get herself to pick up the necklace, much less let her best friend wear it. Instead she would just stare at it and then stare at the letter. What was he playing at? Veronica had told her just how much the necklace cost and Betty didn’t understand why Jughead would give her something so expensive. Did he do that with all his one night stands? The thought made her feel dirty. She wasn’t some girl to be bought, especially not with expensive jewelry. She wanted to throw the necklace in his face and let him know just what she thought about all of this. 

Which was how she ended up at the club two nights later. 

It had taken her a lot of courage to actually get up and go to the club. She’d thought up what she would say to Jughead, but so far all she had was: “What the hell?” Which honestly, didn’t seem like such a bad start if you asked her. 

Veronica had dressed her up again, insisting that Betty at least look good if she was going to give “her own personal Edward Lewis” a piece of her mind. Which is how she ended up in a tight, choker red dress that was a little too short on her, but not short enough that she was about to flash anyone with the fact she wasn’t wearing underwear right now. 

“What if he’s not even here?” Veronica hisses at her as they’re allowed access into the club. The bouncer didn’t even ask to see their I.D’s. He’d taken one look at their outfits and let them through. Betty wondered if Jughead was aware just how lenient his staff was. “I did not waste a perfectly good outfit on you for nothing!” 

“I’m sure someone here will appreciate this dress,” Betty says sarcastically as she takes in the various men gawking at her. Or they might be looking at Veronica’s flashy mini dress. It was hard to tell, but either way, she was sure she’d capture the attention of someone in here. Not that that was her goal. She’d had her fulfillment of a one night stand and now she was dealing with it. 

“Drink?” Veronica asks and Betty nods, leading them over to the bar. Veronica, unlike her, could actually order herself an alcoholic drink. It was just one of the many things that she envied her best friend for. She could really use a drink right about now that wasn’t a Shirley Temple. Realistically, she hadn’t been expecting to see Jughead ever again despite the fact that he’d given her his card. A card that was tucked away in her purse from reasons she doesn’t want to think about. She should have just thrown it away, but for some reason she didn’t. The card was the least of her problems though. The fact that she would probably see Jughead tonight had something akin to adrenaline flowing through her veins. She wasn’t aware whether she felt excited or terrified and her shaky, sweaty hands weren’t helping her to decipher whichever it was either. 

Veronica orders an Appletini when they finally reach the bar. The bartender, the same guy from the other night with Jughead, spares a glance at Betty but she can’t tell whether he remembers her or not. Her cheeks redden, because if he does remember her then that means he probably has an idea of what went on between her and Jughead and she isn’t sure how that makes her feel.

“Do you see him?” Veronica asks and Betty looks around in vain before shaking her head. “What does he look like? I can help you look.” 

Betty opens her mouth, trying to think of just how to to describe him to her best friend, when she stops immediately as her eyes catch sight of him on the dancefloor. 

He’s dressed in black pants, a black button up and leather jacket. He looks like a douchebag, she immediately thinks. Right after that though? She crosses her legs tightly because he looks so _damn hot._ He’s not as dressed up as he had been when she’d first seen him, but somehow he looks better like this and her mouth goes dry as she looks as him. He’s talking to some guy, tall and muscular in ways that Jughead isn’t, but he still somehow manages to look more intimidating. There’s also a small, pretty, dark skinned girl with them as well. 

“Betty?” Veronica speaks up, taking her attention away from the three beautiful people in front of her. “You okay?” 

“That’s him,” she hisses, clutching onto her best friend’s arm like a lifeline. “Right there!” 

Veronica follows her gaze and takes a large sip of her drink as she does. 

“Which one is he?” 

“The one in the leather jacket. Don’t stare at him!” She swivels them back around as to try not to get his attention. She still doesn’t know what she wants to say to him. 

“He’s really hot, B. Holy shit.” 

“This is not the time for that!” 

“Like _really_ hot. Honestly, if you don’t want that necklace then I am willing to become that man’s one night stand to take one for the team, because _holy shit_.” 

“Shut up!” Betty laughs out. “Behave. I just need to return this necklace to him and then we’re leaving and never coming back. Seriously, I never want to hear Jughead Jones’ name again after tonight.” 

“Well, that’s not very nice.” Betty straightens up immediately, the voice going straight to places she doesn’t want to think about. She spares a glance at Veronica, but the brunette is no help. She’s currently gawking behind Betty like she’s just seen God himself. A hand comes out and traces her neck and it takes everything inside of her not to moan out at the gentle touch. “You’re not wearing it.” 

It? What? _Right_. The damn necklace; the entire reason she’s here in the first place. She turns around on the chair and stands up, becoming face to face with Jughead; or well as best as she can. She might be in heels, but he still towers over her. 

“Can I talk to you?” She hisses at him, not unkindly but not happily either. 

The tall man that had followed Jughead over smirks at his friend and Betty’s sure there’s a joke somewhere underneath that smile but she doesn’t care to figure it out right now. 

“Sure,” Jughead says, but he looks a little taken off guard. “Sweets, Toni, I’ll be back.” 

Betty turns around and gives Veronica a look, silently asking if she’ll be okay alone. Her friend nods and turns her attention back to her drink after mouthing a ‘good luck’. 

Jughead places a hand on the lower part of Betty’s back as he guides her through the club and she tries not to focus on just how hot his touch feels. It’s like her senses are hyper aware of him and she’s not exactly sure it’s a good thing anymore. How many times does she need to remind herself that she doesn’t even know this man? Apparently her body doesn’t care at all. 

They walk up a lonely spiral staircase and then he’s leading her into a quiet room on the second floor, away from all the loud music and prying eyes and ears. The door clicks behind them and she tries not to remember the last time they were together; the way his hands feel and how _he_ feels. She forces herself to push those thoughts away from her mind. This isn’t the time nor the place for that. 

“So, Betty,” he draws out as he sits on the desk in the middle of the room, “to what do I owe this pleasure?” 

She reaches into her purse and pulls out the box that still holds the necklace in it. Jughead doesn’t look all that surprised when she holds it out to him, but he does look annoyed. 

“Why did you send me this?” She asks, the anger finally flooding through her veins. “Were you trying to make me feel bad about sleeping with you?” 

“Feel bad?” He asks as he takes the box with a frown, looking down at it as if he’s never seen it before. “What gave you that idea?” 

“Buying me expensive things right after I slept with you! You had to have known how that would make me feel, Jughead. Why would you even get me that? You don’t know me.” 

“You’re thinking way too hard about this,” he says as he opens up the box to peer inside of it, as if he doesn’t already know what the contents are. “It’s beautiful, you’re beautiful. I thought it deserved to be worn by someone like you.”

“Someone like me?” She all but screeches. 

“Someone beautiful,” he clarifies with an eye roll. 

“Do you just go around giving all your one night stands gifts like that? Jughead, that could pay my tuition!” 

He tilts his head at her with a look of wonder on his face. “Would you like me to pay your tuition instead?” 

Betty’s mouth drops open at the request and at the way he seems completely serious. 

“Are you… are you being serious right now?” She whispers out in awe. “No! No, I do not want you to pay my tuition. That’s crazy! Would you actually do that?” 

He shrugs. 

“Have you ever paid for someone’s tuition before?” She asks, curious now. She tries not to think about how if he says yes, that means he’s actually done this with someone before. She’s not sure why it even bothers her. It shouldn’t. _It doesn’t_ , her mind growls at her. 

“No,” he hums out. 

“Then why would you even suggest it? Seriously, Jughead. What are you playing at right now? We don’t know each other. It was a one night stand, that’s all it was. I don’t understand why you’d send me that necklace or give me your card. Aren’t you just supposed to fuck me and go?” 

He smiles at her, a predatory thing as he pushes off of the desk and walks over to her slowly. She stays rooted to where she’s at, but she can feel the way her heart is beating against her chest erratically. 

“I suppose I could, but where’s the fun in that?” He reaches out to touch a loose curl that’s framing her face. “I had fun the other night, didn’t you?” 

“Yes,” she breathes out. There’s no point in lying about it. “But it was just a one time thing.” 

“Was it? It doesn’t have to be, you know. There’s a reason I gave you my personal number. Do you think I give that out to just anyone?” 

Holy shit. He had wanted her to reach out to him again for… what? _Sex?_ What did that make her? 

“So you want to be friends with benefits?” She asks him, confused. He laughs and shakes his head. 

“Not quite.” He pulls his hand away from her. “Benefits? Sure. But friends? I have enough of those.” The comment stings but only a little bit and not nearly enough for her to dwell on it. “I think we could benefit quite well from each other, Betty.” 

“How?” She shakes her head in disbelief. “What could I possibly have to offer you?” 

He purses his lips as he takes a step away from her, trying to put some space in between them. 

“There’s a reason I have so much money at the age of thirty-one, you know.” Betty tries not to seem so shocked at the drop of his age. He’s over a decade older than her. She suddenly feels way out of her league here. She had known he was older, yes, but not _thirty-one_. “I worked hard and put all my time into making sure that I succeeded and came out on top. That meant no girls, no strings attached, nothing. As you can imagine, it gets quite lonely.” 

“I’m sure you’d have no problem finding yourself a girlfriend,” she says, unimpressed. 

“You’re right,” he nods. “But I don’t want a girlfriend. I want someone I can take with me places, someone that’ll look pretty next to me. Someone I can have _fun_ with. I don’t want someone who’s going to fall in love with me because they’re looking for some kind of happy ending.” 

“And you think that person’s me?” When he shrugs and smiles at her, she just shakes her head. “I don’t understand. What do I get out of all of this?” 

“Anything you want. You could have something as small as gourmet chocolates or even tickets to a sold out broadway show or a pretty necklace,” he holds the Harry Winston up and walks behind her. “You could have anything you wanted; jewelry, money-,” he moves her hair out of the way, “-the softest of fabrics on your skin, trips to Paris with your best friend. Tell me, Betty,” he clasps the necklace around her neck and runs his hands down her arms, making her shiver lightly at the touch, “have you ever seen the Eiffel tower at night?” She shakes her head and he leans forward, ghosting his lips across her neck and the soft skin there. She lets her head fall to the side as he whispers into her skin. “What about Bora Bora? Hawaii? Victoria Falls? I could take you to all those places, Betty. Anything you want, anywhere you want; the world could be yours.” 

“Jughead,” she whispers out, feeling a little lightheaded at the closeness of him. 

“Say yes,” he kisses into her skin like a plea. “What do you have to lose?” 

What does she have to lose? The name flashes bright and bold in her mind. Reggie. She’ll lose Reggie. Some dark and tired part of her whispers out ‘you already have’. 

“There’s someone else,” she finally says, making herself pull away from Jughead. “I… I have a boyfriend.” Jughead’s eyes widen exponentially and he steps back from her like she’s just told him that she killed a man. “Okay, well, not a boyfriend exactly. He’s my ex boyfriend, but Jughead… I love him. I can’t- I can’t do this with you. Even the other night feels like a betrayal. I just- I can’t. I’m sorry.” 

She doesn’t even know why she’s apologizing. She doesn’t owe him any explanations. She should have just said no and left it at that. Instead she nearly gave him her whole sob story about her ex boyfriend. 

“An ex boyfriend?” Jughead asks sarcastically. There’s a look of distaste on his features now. “Betty, do you know what I could give you?” 

She frowns. “It doesn’t matter that you could give me money and jewelry, Jughead. Because you can’t give me what he can. You can’t give me love and a future. The other night was fun, yes, but he has my heart. You don’t. So I’m sorry, but I can’t be your sugar baby or whatever it is you want from me.” 

His face hardens but he nods either way, clearly respecting her choice. Betty lifts up her arms to take off the necklace, but he stops her with a shake of his head. 

“Keep it. It really does look nice on you.” She opens her mouth to argue but he gives her a glare and she closes it again, nodding. 

“Well,” she starts, not really knowing where to go with this, “thank you.” 

He just gives her a smile and she turns around to walk out of the room. 

“Betty?” He calls out and she turns to look at him in question. “If you ever get tired of your boyfriend and breakfast at McDonalds, you have my number.” He smirks at her and she knows she should feel annoyed at the words but she isn’t. Instead she smiles at him and rolls her eyes playfully before walking out of the room. 

She touches the necklace gently as she walks down the stairs. She doesn’t know what just happened up there and she isn’t sure how she feels about any of it, but she chooses not to think about it too much. Jughead Jones was just another man. After tonight she’d probably never see him again and that was that, she could live with that. She has to think about her future and she just doesn’t see anything coming out of an arrangement like that with him. She already knows how it would go down. They’d fuck a few times, he’d give her pretty things, she’d give him orgasms, and in the end, when they were finally bored with each other, they’d walk away; alone, with nothing but wasted time. 

Once she reaches the end of the stairwell, she scans the dancefloor for Veronica, but she doesn’t have to look long. 

Her best friend is currently sandwiched between the girl and guy that had been with Jughead earlier; Sweets and Toni he had called them. She’s not sure which is which if she’s being honest. 

Veronica’s head is thrown back in what looks like pure ecstasy. The man stands behind her, leaning down ever so slightly so that Veronica’s grinding right up against the front of his pants. His hands are trailing down her arms while she has hers thrown up, wrapping around his neck as she brings his face closer down to hers. The girl, the pretty and small one, is wrapped around Veronica’s front. Her hands are on Veronica’s hips and her head is tilted down towards her collarbones. 

Betty wonders if her and Jughead had looked that sensual the other night. It had seemed like they’d been in their own world, but she wants to know how the _world_ had looked at them. As she looks at Veronica now, all she feels is jealous. 

Veronica ditches Archie and yet she still manages to come out on top afterwards; to have two beautiful people draped all over her while she was happy and carefree. Betty wishes she could be like that. She wishes she didn’t have this dark cloud over her, the one that never seemed to leave ever since she’d gotten dumped. She never wanted to be the kind of girl who stood around and pined after a boy who no longer wanted her, but yet here she was. 

She decides not to tell Veronica she’s leaving. Just because she’s having a bad night, that doesn’t mean that her best friend needs to as well. Veronica’s always comforting her with soft touches and gentle, kind words and Betty doesn’t think she can deal with anymore pity from her best friend. 

She sighs as she walks out of the club. She doesn’t want to go home. Home is too quiet, too lonely. It’s the last place she wants to be. 

She walks over to a bench outside of the club and sits down on it. It’s cold outside and her dress is hardly anything to keep her warm in, but she doesn’t care. The cold air practically burns against her skin and she likes the way it feels right now. It stings a little; just like everything else in her life and it makes her feel alive. 

Her phone vibrates in her purse and she pulls it out a little too excitedly, hoping, _praying_ that it’s Reggie. But it’s not. It never is. 

It’s just Archie; a text message asking if Veronica has her phone on her and if she does, why she’s not answering his calls. 

Betty doesn’t respond. She’s not about to get caught up in their drama. If Veronica’s ignoring him, then it’s for a good reason. She knows the two will eventually makeup, they always did, but this seemed bigger. This was years and years building up to something, only to have it destroyed in one night. If Veronica wanted a little bit of space then Betty thinks she damn well deserves it. 

She exits out of the thread, but before she pockets her phone again, her eyes shift down to the one thread of messages that she hasn’t opened in weeks. 

She’d deleted his number, because she was petty and angry and she was tired of seeing the little football and heart emoji next to his name. He didn’t deserve emojis. 

Her thumb hovers over the unsaved number and before she can think twice about it, she opens it up; the last of their relationship coming back to her fullforce. 

He’d sent her a picture of him at the gym with his friends, shirtless and flexing, but he’d been smiling _her_ smile at the camera, the one he only ever used for her. He was winking exaggeratedly and the caption had been a bunch of heart emojis mixed in with some other random ones like a snowman and waterfall. Betty loved the picture. 

She scrolls through all their texts with a heavy heart; the jokes and teasing are all still there. She still doesn’t understand how things could have gone from amazing to completely dead so fast. It didn’t make sense to her. She just wants to know what she did wrong. Why wasn’t she good enough? She was always used to being everyone’s second choice, but being with Reggie had changed that all for her and now? Now it seemed like a fleeting moment and nothing more. It hurt. It hurt so much that she scrolled over and pressed down on the little ‘call’ button. 

He won’t answer. She knows that he won’t and she prepares herself, but that still doesn’t make it hurt any less whenever she gets his voicemail. His voice is loud and happy in her ear and for a moment it’s like he’s back with her, just talking to her again. 

_‘Hey, you reached Reggie! If I didn’t answer, it means I don’t want to talk. Don’t bother leaving a message, I won’t get back to you… Unless it’s you, Mom. In which case I’m just studying. Laters!’_

Betty laughs at the familiar voicemail and then stops when she hears the beep, letting her know that she’s being recorded. 

She’s silent for a few seconds before talking. 

“Hey,” she whispers into the line, a little broken and a little lost. “It’s me. Betty. I know you told me not to call, that you needed space and uh, you don’t even need to call me back. It’s okay. I know you won’t even listen to this, but I guess I just wanted to hear something familiar.” She bites at her nail and sighs out. “I hope you’re doing okay. I’m good. Sometimes I don’t feel so good, but Veronica and Archie have been great. You know it’s funny, there are so many things I’ve been wanting to talk to you about and now I can’t think of a single one.” She digs the toe of her high heels into an already put out cigarette that’s laying on the floor. “I finished all my finals. I think I passed, so that’s nice, right?” 

She pauses, not really knowing what to say. A part of her wants to hurt him. She wants to tell him about Jughead. She wants to yell down the line about all the things he did to her and how amazing he made her feel. She wants to tell him about the offer and the necklace on her neck. She wants to tell him she accepted the offer and that she’ll never think about him again. 

But she doesn’t. 

“Well, I better go now. I’m outside of this club right now and it’s kind of cold. Veronica said a jacket would clash with my dress so I didn’t bring one…” she trails off, not sure why she’s telling him any of this at all. He doesn’t care anymore. 

“Anyway,” she clears her throat, “I’ll see around. Take care of yourself, Reggie.” 

And then she hangs up. 

He won’t listen to it, but it doesn’t matter. She feels a little better, a little lighter somehow. Reggie had always been the one person she could talk to about anything and even now, when he isn’t listening and she doesn’t have anything to say, he’s still able to make her feel better.

She puts her phone back into her purse and hails down a cab. When he asks her where she wants to go, she doesn’t have an answer. She doesn’t know where she wants to go. There’s a lot of different things she could say; a few that might even make her happy right now. Instead she just whispers out the address to her apartment. It’s not where she _wants_ to be, but it’s the only place she can be. 

“Good night, miss?” He asks. 

“Yeah,” she answers, smiling at him through the rearview mirror and hoping that it looks genuine. 

He gives her a frown. 

.

.

.

They don’t talk about it. 

Veronica comes home at seven in the morning and they just don’t talk about it. 

A part of Betty wants to know what she got up to; what happened after she left the club, but a bigger part doesn’t. She can put the pieces together, she thinks, and she doesn’t want to have that puzzle solved. Veronica comes home with a smile and a dazed look and that’s all that matters. Betty doesn’t need details. 

Veronica does ask about Jughead. Betty just says that she thanked him for the necklace. It’s not exactly a lie but it’s far from the whole truth. There are a few things that her best friend doesn’t need to know, though and her getting offered to be the sugar baby of her most recent one night stand is one of those things. 

Betty doesn’t mention the text from Archie and she doesn’t bring him up at all. 

The two of them sit on the couch, blankets wrapped around them and hot chocolate in their hands, and watch Hallmark movies that they make fun of for being so cliche but still cry over. It’s a good day.

Until there’s a knock on their apartment door at two in the afternoon.

They give each other a questioning look. Neither of them are expecting anyone over and Betty’s first thought goes to Jughead for some unimaginable reason. 

The last person she’s expecting to see when she throws open the door is Reggie Mantle. 

He has this sort of dark but worried look over his face and Betty can feel the way her heart stutters inside of her chest at the sight of him. 

“Reg?” She breathes out. “What are you doing here?” 

“What did you expect?” He asks, a little winded, as he barges through the front door. Veronica stands up from the couch and looks between the two of them, unsure if she needs to intervene. “You left me that voicemail last night and it freaked me out! Betty, you sounded... bad again.” 

Her face heats up at the accusation and Veronica’s on her back before she can even say anything. 

“Voicemail?” Her voice raises, looking at Betty in betrayal. “You called _him_? Betty, if something was wrong then you should have just told me! I would have come home with you.” Her eyes start to water and now Betty feels like complete shit. She didn’t want Veronica to know about the voicemail because she knew she would react this way and it was the last thing she wanted. Her best friend deserved to have some fun; not to be constantly fretting over Betty and whatever issues she may or may not have. 

“You went to a club with her and let her leave by herself?” Reggie all but growls at Veronica. “Why am I not surprised? You always bring out the worst in her!” 

“Reggie!” Betty yells out, frowning. 

“It’s true and you know it! She’s a bad influence. You’ve never gone to clubs before, but of course as soon as we break up Veronica’s dragging you all over the goddamn city. And she doesn’t even take care of you!” 

“Okay, you hypocritical asshole-,” Veronica starts but Reggie cuts her off before she can say anything else. 

“You were just waiting for us to break up! Don’t even kid yourself. This is probably your dream come true; to have Betty become exactly like you! What if something had happened to her, huh? What then, Veronica? What would _you_ have done?” 

Betty sees the way Veronica’s face falls immediately before she storms off, obviously not wanting to start another infamous fight with him, and Betty wants to yell at Reggie to shut up. To say that he and Veronica had never gotten along with each other would be the understatement of the year. They both thought that the other was a bad influence on Betty, but she didn’t see it from either side. Reggie, while the definition of your stereotypic jerkish jock, had always been sweet to Betty. He’d taken care of her when she needed it most and he knew all of her secrets and didn’t judge her for any of them. And Veronica, yes she might be a bit of a party girl, but Betty was a big girl. She could say no if she didn’t want to go out, but she didn’t. It was _her_ decision, even if Reggie couldn’t see it that way. 

“Reg,” she whispers, reaching out and grabbing ahold of his hand gently. He flinches at the touch before squeezing her hand back tightly like he’s afraid she might disappear if she lets go. “I wanted to go out with Veronica, okay? I left the voicemail because at that moment you were the one person I really wanted to talk to. I’m not getting bad,” she whispers the last sentence as if it’s a secret. “If I were, I’d go straight to you, okay? I’m fine, though. I promise. Everything is fine.” 

His face softens at her words and then he’s bringing her in for a hug, crushing her against his chest and Betty wants to cry at the familiarity of it all. She’s been craving his touch for so long and now that she finally has it again, it’s overwhelming and she doesn’t know what to do with all the emotions building up inside of her chest. 

Reggie pulls away and smiles at her, but the smile changes into a frown as his eyes narrow in confusion. Betty opens her mouth to ask him what’s wrong, but then he’s reaching down towards her chest with his hand. She’s a little freaked out at the action until she remembers that _she’s still wearing the Harry Winston necklace around her neck_. 

He pulls at the sunflower pendant and Betty moves backwards, making it fall from his hands and back onto her chest. She had completely forgotten to take the necklace off last night and for some unknown reason, she doesn’t want Reggie touching it. She’s scared he might ruin it. 

She tries to tuck it underneath her shirt but it’s in vain; he’s already seen it, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that it’s a little more expensive than the James Avery jewelry she usually wears. 

“Where’d you get that?” He asks, tone a little accusatory. 

“Veronica.” It’s the first thing that comes to her mind. And it’s a damn lie. Veronica is the only person in their circle that could actually afford this though. “It was a present after the breakup to make me feel better.” 

“She bought you a necklace?” He asks with a tilt of his head. Betty can tell that he doesn’t believe her at all and she can’t even blame him. It’s a terrible lie. 

“Yes.” She turns away from him, wanting the conversation off of the stupid necklace. “Reggie, why are you here? You could have just called me back. You didn’t need to come all the way over here just because of a voicemail.” 

He sighs out and she can feel him move towards her even though she’s not facing him anymore. “I need to talk to you about something.” 

Her heart rate picks up as she turns around to face him again. His voice sounds so soft and gentle that she can’t help where her mind immediately goes to. The look on his face doesn’t seem so happy though and her heart starts racing for an entirely different reason. 

“I’ve started seeing someone else,” he admits, eyes downcast. Betty swears that her heart stops in her chest. 

“What?” 

He finally looks back up at her and she can tell that he feels bad over it; at least he’s not completely heartless. 

“It’s nothing serious,” he says, moving towards her, but she takes a step back. She can see the hurt in his eyes but she doesn’t care. She’s pretty sure she knows which one of them is hurting worse right now and she doubts it’s him. “But I thought you should know.” 

“Why would I want to know that? Are you trying to hurt me?” 

“No,” he pleads. “Betty, you’re the last person I want to hurt. I love you and I’m always going to love you. Who knows? Maybe we’ll even come back to each other after all of this, but right now this is what I need.” 

“You need to see someone else?” She practically yells out. “You dumped me because you needed space but you’ve got someone else already? How does that even make sense?” 

“It’s not like that!” He runs his hands through his hair in frustration. “We’re so young, Betty. We have our entire lives to be together and be in love. You’re only twenty years old, come on. Are you really telling me that you want to be married and having kids with me by the age of twenty-two?” 

She looks at him in betrayal, tears starting to form in her eyes, because _yes_. That’s exactly what she had wanted. “I thought you wanted that, too.” 

He shakes his head. “I want to live my life, all of it. I don’t want to be tied down like that right now and you shouldn’t want that either. These are the only years we’ll ever have to be free. We both deserve to have fun.” 

“Fine,” she says, voice empty. “Enjoy your years, Reggie.” 

“Betty-.” 

“Get out!” She yells at him. “Just go.” 

He looks torn, like he doesn’t want to leave things like this between them, but he nods and walks out of the room either way. When he shuts the door behind himself, she knows she has two options. 

She can either sit here and cry and beg Veronica to get her drunk and make her forget all of this. She can wallow in pity and listen to sad songs and even try to call him later on to beg for him back. She can sit around and wonder why she’ll never be good enough for anyone, why she’s always tossed to the side for better and prettier things. She can feel sorry herself and scream at the world for being unfair. She can be miserable if she so chooses. 

She decides to go with a second option. 

She dries her eyes and walks over to her purse that’s sitting on top of the kitchen counter and she pulls out her phone and a fancy business card. 

The phone rings twice before a deep, alluring voice speaks over the line. 

“This is Jones.” 

She’s not sure how a voice can sound so in control and sensual over the phone, but his does. She licks her lips, suddenly feeling like she should just hang up the phone and treat this like a wrong number call. She’s so out of her league here with no idea of what to even do. 

“Hello?” He asks again when she doesn’t say anything back immediately. Impatient. His voice sounds like he’s tired, like he wouldn’t be very happy if this were a wrong number call. It makes Betty smile for some reason. 

“It’s Betty,” she finally says as she reaches out to run a finger across the necklace that lies heavily around her chest. “I’ve rethought your offer.” 

There’s a pause and she swears she can feel him smirking across the line. 

“That was a little fast. Are you really sure about this?” He asks. 

“Positive.” 

“Alright then, Betty. What are you doing tonight?” 

She grins wickedly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a bit of a stepping stone, but we're about to get into all the good stuff. ;) 
> 
> love you guys sm. <3


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> look who's back, back, back ((back again)). 
> 
> this chapter is a bit more humorous! i realized that i usually write my fics as a little on the serious and angsty side and while yes, this story will STILL have that (is it a fic by me if there ISN'T angst? come on, ya'll know me) but i also want to focus on Betty's college life. college is a fun and whacky time and i picture her and Veronica as absolute dorks. so yeah, this chapter is a little whacky but i hope you guys like it either way :) 
> 
> No beta so any mistakes are mine and I'm sorry and I hope you guys don't catch them because I finished this at midnight and I MIGHT JUST CRY. also i'm not too sure how i feel about this chapter. it could have went in so many directions but this is how it ended up and i just really hope its okay... 
> 
> ((veronicalodgeisbisexualandyoucanprythatoutofmycolddeadhandsENJOY.))

Music floods throughout the bedroom; a pretty cover of a Bruce Springsteen song, it’s slow and sensual and as Jughead drops her dress to the floor, leaving her in just her matching underwear set and black heels, it feels perfect. 

She steps out of it and closer to him, looking at his open arms that are stretched out towards her like a silent invitation. Normally she’d feel a little nervous standing in front of him so exposed, but the way he’s looking at her makes her feel sexy and wanted; it makes her feel _powerful_. She’d never thought she could feel like that, but in the two times that she’s been with Jughead, he’s somehow managed to make her feel exactly that way. 

“You dressed up for the occasion,” Jughead jokes softly as he runs his hands down her sides tenderly. The gentle touch causes chills to run down her spine and she shivers lightly, causing him to smile at the reaction. 

“Do you like it?” Betty wasn’t one to usually match her underwear to her bra. She just didn’t care that much; there were more important things in the morning to worry about, but she’d wanted to look good for him. It was a matching set she’d bought from Victoria’s Secret a long time ago and when she’d taken it out of the back of her drawer today, the tags had still been on it. He’s the first person to ever see her in this and she’s hoping that he’s impressed. 

“Do you want me to like it?” He asks, tilting his head as he brings up a hand and runs it over the curves of her breasts. “Did you wear this just for me?” She nods. “What was that? Speak up, love.” 

_Love_. The word makes her go practically dizzy in want. It’s a nice thing to be called in general, but hearing him call her that? It’s almost too much. She wants him to call her that again. She wants him to call her anything he wants. She wonders how a man she hardly knows can have such an effect on her. It might be all in her head, because of how much she wants this; to be able to move on and be happy, but she’ll take it. 

“Yes,” she whispers out, “I wore it just for you.” 

“And you want me to like it?” 

“Yes.” 

He presses his lips against her ear, flicking his tongue out towards her earlobe before catching it in his mouth and sucking on it gently. She breathes out and then he’s pulling away and whispering into her ear so quietly that she almost doesn’t catch it. 

“Then take it off.” 

He pulls away from her and she looks at him in shock, but he’s looking at her patiently and there’s a soft look on him like he’d wait all night for her to make the next move. 

So she does. 

She reaches behind herself and undoes her bra, letting it fall to the floor, and then she pulls down her panties and lets them join the growing pile on the floor. She leans down to take off her heels, but Jughead stops her. 

“Keep them on,” he commands. She stands back up straight and he runs his eyes over her body in appreciation. “You’re beautiful, Betty. Whether it’s in an expensive dress, my sweater and sweats, sexy underwear, or nothing at all; you’re beautiful. You know that, don’t you?”

Does she? Objectively she’s aware that she is a pretty girl. It’s something she used to struggle with, always feeling ugly next to Veronica, who seemed to be the girl that everyone’s eyes immediately went to, but as she got older she realized that she was pretty. But Jughead doesn’t make her feel pretty. He makes her feel otherworldly. He looks at her like he’s never seen something so precious, so pristine, and she imagines that that can’t possibly be true, but he does; he looks at her like she’s the prettiest girl he’s ever seen and she knows it’s not even close to the truth, but she can pretend. 

“Yes,” she whispers to him. “Jughead?” He raises an eyebrow in question. “Can you kiss me please?” It’s all she wants, his lips against hers. She can’t stop thinking about his lips; the same ones that have plagued her mind since they last touched hers. He smiles at her and places both of his hands onto her cheeks, enveloping her face in his warm embrace. He doesn’t say anything before he leans forward and presses his lips against her softly. Immediately, she melts into his kiss. His lips are just as soft as she remembered, although she didn’t quite remember them fitting so well against hers. He licks at her bottom lip and Betty doesn’t think twice before letting them fall open. 

She’d never been a huge fan of open mouth kisses; her mother had warned her about germs enough times that it had stayed with her throughout her years, but having Jughead’s tongue trace the top of her mouth before it swirls around her own feels way too heavenly to be considered anything but perfect. She wants to kiss him forever, despite knowing that it’s impossible for several different reasons. 

The hands on her cheeks trail downwards and wrap themselves around her neck, gently but also stiffly as if he’s testing something out. It makes her stands up straighter and gasp a little into Jughead’s mouth. He smiles against her lips and then he’s kissing her twice as fiercely. His hands drop down to her waist and wrap themselves around her tightly, bringing her closer to him in a way that has her almost tripping over her feet in the process. His body is warm and firm and Betty lets herself get wrapped up in all of him. She doesn’t think she’s ever been this warm before. 

“I got you something,” Jughead pants out as he pulls away from her. 

“A gift?” She asks, happily and almost childlike. Now that she knows what this is, now that Jughead’s spelled it out for her, a part of her is almost giddy over the entire thing. She’s never been like this with someone before; she’s never received gifts _with_ pleasure and she doesn’t exactly know if all of this is bad or good, but it’s making her happy and it’s making her forget the hurt in her chest, so how _can_ it be bad? 

Jughead nods. “I was happy when you called earlier. I thought I could show you just how happy you made me.” 

Her cheeks redden a little at the words. The idea of making him happy makes _her_ happy, it makes her feel good. For as little as she does know him, she sure wants his approval and happiness a whole lot. Veronica had always told her that she was a people pleaser. She guesses her best friend must have been right. 

He walks over to a dresser behind him and pulls something from one of the drawers before walking back over to her. When he opens up a tiny box and shows her the contents inside, she gasps lightly. 

They’re the matching earrings to the necklace he’d gotten her before. They’re just as beautiful as the necklace is and they gleam under the moonlight that drips into the room through the windows. 

“They’re beautiful,” Betty whispers out and Jughead smiles at her, obviously pleased by her answer. 

“Yes,” he agrees. “Do you want to try them on?” 

She nods and he hands them over to her. They feel heavy on her ears, mainly because she’s sure the price is insane, but she touches them lightly with her fingers and she smiles. 

“Do they look good?” She asks with a smile. 

“Beautiful. Do you like them?” 

She bites at her lip before looking up at him through her lashes. 

“How about I show you just how much I like them?” 

She pushes him backwards and watches as he lands on the bed behind him, bouncing lightly as he hits the mattress. He looks up at her in wonder and excitement and Betty, for the first time in a while, feels completely at ease. 

.

.

.

“Gross,” Veronica winces as she pulls her drink away from her lips. “This tastes like cardboard.” She tosses the latte into the trashcan and Betty tries not to wince at the absolute waste of money. “You are _not_ getting a job here, B. I absolutely will not allow it.” 

Betty rolls her eyes but does toss the job application into the trashcan besides her. It’s not like this hole-in-the-wall coffee shop was her dream job, but it would have been a nice place to start. Except for the fact that it was in the sketchiest part of the city and the manager had spent half of their conversation staring at her legs. Also Veronica was right; the coffee was God awful. 

“I don’t understand why you even want a job,” her best friend says as they walk out of the cafe. “It’s not like you have any bills to pay.” 

“Thanks to _your_ dad,” Betty reminds her. “I’m just bored of sitting around at home all day. We have a whole month and a half off from school and I’d rather not spend it inside of our apartment all day doing nothing. Besides it’ll be nice to have some extra cash.” 

“You’d have to actually be there in order to do nothing,” Veronica says pointedly. “Why don’t you just ask your new boyfriend if he can get you a job at one of his clubs? I’m sure fucking the boss gets you some kind of in, doesn’t it?” 

Betty cringes at the choice of words. Veronica’s well aware that Betty and Jughead have been seeing each other a lot in the past two weeks, but she doesn’t know the exact truth behind their relationship. It’s just something that never really came up in conversation and Betty would like to keep it that way. She wasn’t exactly jumping out of her skin to tell her best friend about the sugar daddy in her life. As far as Veronica knew, Betty and Jughead were just “casually dating” and Betty was going to keep it that way for as long as possible. She’s also sure that Jughead would hand over any sort of extra cash if she wanted it, but that made her feel kind of bad. Gifts were one thing, but out right asking for money? She wasn’t that desperate. 

“I don’t want to work at one of his clubs. That would be weird. Besides, I don’t think sleeping with your boss is a tip on keeping your relationship happy and healthy.” 

“So you admit that you are in a relationship with him?” 

Betty frowns. “No. It’s not like that, I’ve already told you. It’s just casual dating. Stop trying to trick me!” 

“Casual dates don’t spend days at a time with each other, you know.” Betty refrains from rolling her eyes. Veronica’s dead set on the idea of Betty and Jughead being together, despite the amount of times that she tries to tell her otherwise. 

“We don’t spend days at a time with each other,” Betty says sharply. “Besides, I don’t ask you about you and Sweet Pea, do I?” Veronica glares at her and Betty smiles, knowing that she’s won. She doesn’t exactly know what’s going on there, she’s not even sure if _Veronica_ knows, but either way she doesn’t ask and Veronica doesn’t offer. She figures they’ll talk about whenever she’s ready and it’s leverage to get Veronica off of her back as well, so it all works out in the end. 

“Whatever. So did you get Kevin’s text?” 

“Yes,” Betty sighs. “I don’t really think a party is a good idea, V.” 

They’d only met Kevin during their first semester at college but the three of them had hit it off perfectly. Kevin was funny, smart, and really knew how to have a good time. Veronica and him had gotten into plenty of trouble together and Betty had to cover for them multiple times. Kevin was a good guy and Betty absolutely adored him, but he was the son of the Chief of Police in a small town with a population of five hundred. This means that he _craved_ the nightlife that the city had to offer. He had perfected the art of sneaking around and partying and getting into trouble without getting caught. Now that he didn’t have to hide so much, he didn’t hold anything back. Betty adored him, but he had a streak in him that usually ended up getting the three of them into trouble. 

“Oh, come on! His boyfriend’s throwing it and you know he throws the best parties.” 

“What’s there to even celebrate?” Betty asks. Parties were for celebration and as far as she was concerned, nothing spectacular had happened lately. 

“Who needs a reason?” Veronica says with a smirk as she puts on her sunglasses. “We’re young. We deserve to party just for being alive. Who knows, you might even get lucky.” 

Automatically her hand flies to her earlobe and she touches one of the diamond earrings that she hasn’t taken off since she put on. She doesn’t need to tell Veronica that she already got _lucky_. She doesn’t think her luck could get any better if she tried. 

.

.

.

 

“What’s wrong?” Jughead caresses Betty’s back as she lays her head across his chest. They’re wrapped up in each other's arms, barely regaining their breath and just a little bit sticky. 

“How do you know something’s wrong?” 

“Just a guess.” His hand stops its gentle touch. 

“It’s nothing,” she says but then backtracks. “It’s stupid. You’re going to laugh at me.” 

“Try me.” 

“Veronica wants us to go to this party tonight and I don’t really want to. I’ve never really liked parties to begin with, but especially not now. I just know that I’m going to run into people I don’t want to see and everyone will be drunk or high and I just don’t feel like dealing with any of that.” 

Jughead laughs and Betty pouts. 

“Oh, don’t pout,” he chuckles without even looking at her, his fingers play with strands of her hair that fan out around him. She wonders how he even knew she _was_ pouting. “I just forget how young you are sometimes. I remember when parties were the biggest concern of my day.” 

Betty glances up at him. He’s smiling even though his eyes are closed. “Were you a party boy?” 

“Oh, the worst!” He laughs. “Toni had to bail me out of jail a few times back then. Sweet Pea and I were a nightmare. I don’t know how she put up with us.” 

She tries to imagine him, young and carefree, and it brings a smile to her face. She doesn’t know much about Jughead, she hardly knows anything at all about him, but he’s always seemed a little tightly wound up. He wasn’t a serious guy, not by any means, but he wasn’t exactly the happiest guy around either. Having him laugh so freely right now was incredible all on its own. 

“Jughead Jones the delinquent,” she says with a smile. “Bit of a stretch from today, isn’t it?” 

“You’d be surprised, little one.” 

She opens her mouth to ask him what he means, but his phone starts ringing on the bedside table before she can. He apologizes before reaching over to answer it. 

Betty wonders what he meant by ‘you’d be surprised’. She tries to think back to everything she knows about him or his job, but the truth is, she doesn’t know much. She knows that he has enough money to be able to own several clubs, but that’s about it. She’s been in the room a few times when he’s yelled at people over the phone about work related things, but honestly, she has no clue what it is that he actually does. She wonders if he’s _from_ money. It would make sense. 

“What do you mean ‘gone’?” He barks into the phone. “How does-.” He pauses, cutting himself off as he glances over to Betty. She raises an eyebrow at him and he licks his lips before getting up from the bed. “How do you even manage to lose something like that?” Pause. “I told you not to put him on the job. He’s a-.” His voice trails off as he walks out of the room, leaving Betty all by herself on the large bed. 

A part of her wants to follow after him and see what he’s discussing on the phone, but she stops herself. It really isn’t any of her business at all. They aren’t anything serious for her to even be concerned, but still. She’s always been a curious soul. 

Her phone vibrates on the side table and she picks it up. It’s a text from Veronica with a picture attached of an outfit for the night. Betty rolls her eyes. As much as she doesn’t want to go to the party, she knows that she is. She is because Veronica wants to and she’s never been good at telling her best friend no. 

The time on her phone reads eight o’clock. They’re supposed to be at Kevin’s boyfriend’s place at eleven so she still has plenty of time to get dressed and ready. 

She slides off of the bed and puts on her sweater dress that had been laying on the floor. 

“Leaving me so early?” 

Jughead walks into the room with a content smile on his face. It looks a little forced though and Betty wants to ask him what’s wrong, what the person on the phone had told him. She doesn’t. She just smiles back at him. 

“Yeah, Veronica wants to go over outfit ideas.”

“So you’re going tonight after all?” 

“Yeah,” she shrugs as she puts on her shoes. “It’ll be fun, I guess.”

“Even though you’ll see people you don’t want to?” He walks closer to her and pulls her into him. His arms wrap around her waist as he looks down at her. “Is your ex boyfriend the person you don’t want to see?” 

She nods as she melts into his embrace. “He’s friends with Kevin’s boyfriend.” 

Jughead doesn’t say anything but the smile on his face does falter. She wonders why. 

“Do you know what you’re going to wear?” Jughead asks, the playful tone back in his voice. She shakes her head. 

“Probably jeans and a t-shirt. I don’t really see the point in dressing up.” 

He laughs, but pulls away from her. 

“Well,” he says as he walks over to his dresser and pulls something off of the top, “how about adding this to the outfit.” He walks back over to her and hands her what looks to be a gold and black cuff. 

“Did you buy this for me?” 

“No. It’s actually mine. One of my favorite David Yurman pieces.” He turns it over and shows her the ‘F.P.J.III’ engraved into it in elegant writing. 

“And you want me to wear it?” She gives him a curious look. “Why?” 

“It’s something that will go with your outfit.” 

“With jeans and a t-shirt?” She laughs, a bit crazed. 

“And,” he says softly as he places it onto her wrist, “if you do see that ex boyfriend of yours,” he places his lips against her ear, “just remember you’re wearing _my_ initials around your wrist.” 

She shivers at his words and at the dark tone he says them in. 

“You should come over after,” he says as he places a kiss to her neck and then her forehead. 

“It’ll be late,” she informs him, but she already knows that she’s going to come. “Really late.” 

“Good thing I don’t sleep much.” 

“You won’t get much sleep if I come over,” she says, a smirk forming on her face. 

“I don’t plan on it.” He kisses her forehead. “And do me a favor?” 

“Sure,” she says a little too quickly. “Anything.” 

“Have fun tonight, Betty. You deserve it. You’re only young once, you know.” 

“Are you sure you’re only thirty-one?” You sound like such an old man,” she teases. 

“Oh yeah?” He laughs. “Let me show you just how ‘old’ I really am.” 

He lunges at her and she laughs as he tosses her back into the bed.

.

.

.

The party’s in full swing by the time Betty and Veronica show up. She doesn’t recognize anyone, but she’s sure that’s the whole point. She grimaces as she takes in everyone around her and the state they’re in. Everyone’s way past tipsy, including Veronica who’d been pregaming at their apartment. 

“Do you see Kev anywhere?” She asks Veronica who just shakes her head before darting into the kitchen quickly. Betty whirls around in confusion, not understanding what the hell just happened. “V--?” 

“Betty,” a gentle voice greets her. 

_Ah._

She turns back around and sees Archie standing in front of her, a smile on his face that looks way too forced. He doesn’t look too great and she feels bad for him. Veronica hasn’t given her much detail on how things are between the two of them, but she knows enough to know that they aren’t on speaking terms just yet. 

“Arch,” she greets. “How are you?” Despite everything, Archie is still one of her closest friends. She wants him to know that she isn’t picking sides here. Sure, she thinks that Veronica should be allowed the space she needs but she also doesn’t blame Archie for not reciprocating her feelings. 

“Alright. Look, I know she doesn’t want to talk to me and I get that, but could you just let Ronnie know that I didn’t mean it?” 

Betty shakes her head. “Didn’t mean…?” Then she widens her eyes. “Oh. Oh! You mean… you like her?” She whispers it as if it’s some kind of secret and not something that she’s known since they were all teenagers. 

Archie just nods and Betty sighs. 

“Then why would you tell her that you didn’t? Archie, you really hurt her.” 

“I know, Betty, okay? I know.” He runs a hand through his hair. “I just really need to talk to _her_ about that, so just… just let her know that whenever she’s ready, I’m here to talk, okay?” Betty nods at his request and he gives her another smile before walking off. 

She goes into the kitchen area that Veronica had darted into and she sees her best friend sitting on the countertop, typing away quickly on her phone and a red cup next to her. 

“Didn’t really take you for someone to run away from their problems,” she says as she walks over to her. Veronica looks up and places her phone face down on the counter. 

“I’m not running away from them, B. I just don’t really feel like talking to him right now. I respect that he doesn’t like me that way and it’s okay, but it takes some time to get used to. It’s fine though. No one actually ends up with their childhood crush, right?” 

“Well, I wouldn’t say that,” Betty offers. “He says that he needs to talk to you; that he didn’t mean it.” Veronica looks confused for a second before her eyes are widening and Betty nods. “Yeah, I kind of had the same reaction.” 

“That asshole!” The brunette yells out in shock. 

“I don’t know why he’d lie, but maybe you should listen to him, V. Talk it out with him and fix this thing between the two of you; finally get that happy ending you’ve always wanted with him.” 

“But what if I don’t want to?” 

“Wait. What?” 

“What if I don’t want to?” Veronica hops off the countertop and flips her hair over her shoulder. “What if I don’t want to be the girl who marries her childhood crush? What if I want more?” 

“More?” Betty asks, completely taken off guard. “Like what?” 

“I don’t know,” Veronica shrugs. “I just… there’s so much out there that we haven’t even experienced because we’ve been so stuck on these stupid college boys. I mean, look at you!” 

“Me?” 

“Yes!” Veronica yells. “Reggie broke your heart, whatever, but look at you now, you’re dating some super hot older guy who’s rich as hell and honestly? That sounds like an upgrade to me.” 

“Wow, V,” she says with an eyeroll. “If you’re trying to make me feel better, maybe don’t bring up my ex boyfriend.” 

“Oh, whatever. Are you really going to stand here and tell me that Reggie’s somehow better than Jughead?” 

“Well, no…”

“Exactly!” 

“Because there’s nothing to compare,” Betty rushes out. “I’m not dating Jughead. It’s not like that.” 

“Fine,” Veronica laughs. “Then you’re fucking a really hot older guy who’s rich as hell. Either way? It’s an upgrade and you should really be thankful that Reggie’s out of your life.” 

“You’re being extra bitchy tonight,” Betty finally quipes. “What’s your deal?” 

Veronica opens her mouth and looks like she wants to say something rude, but she deflates at the last second before letting out a long sigh. 

“I’m sorry. I am being pretty bitchy, aren’t I?” Betty nods and Veronica shakes her head. “I’m just… it’s not fair. And I don’t mean that in some childish way, but it’s genuinely not fair. Archie doesn’t get to decide when to be with me. I bared my soul to him completely and he broke my heart. I know that’s probably dramatic but in the moment, that’s what it felt like. I really thought that he’d reciprocate my feelings and that we’d be together finally and everything would be okay, but he didn’t. He didn’t and then I slept with Sweet Pea and Toni-.” 

“Wait, what?” Betty hisses. “You did what? Oh, my God.” 

“I know!” Veronica groans and it looks like she’s five seconds away from crying. Betty feels like she’s two seconds away from a breakdown. “I didn’t mean to!” 

“You didn’t mean to have a threesome?” Betty asks, completely thrown off. “How do you accidentally have a threesome? Oh, my god. It _was_ consensual, wasn’t it?” 

“Yes!” Veronica quickly says. “I wasn’t drunk. It was that night at the club when you went to give Jughead the necklace. I don’t even know how it happened. I was dancing one minute and the next I’m in some really nice room and Sweet Pea’s fucking me from behind while I’m eating out Toni and--.” 

“Oh, my GOD!” Betty yells. “Veronica, way too much information!” 

“I’m sorry,” she cries out and Betty starts to feel like she might pass out. 

“I didn’t even know you liked girls!”

“I kissed you when we were sophomores,” Veronica wails. “How did you not know?” 

“It was for a game of truth or dare!” 

“I slipped in some tongue,” she says through a loud sob. “Oh, my God, Betty. I had a threesome with two strangers like I was in some trashy porno.” She throws herself at Betty and the blonde quickly catches her and wraps her arms around her. Not really knowing what to do, she pats at Veronica’s back gently and tries to shush her. 

“It’s okay,” Betty comforts her. When Veronica doesn’t stop crying, she figures it’s time to bring out the big guns. “If it makes you feel any better, I had sex with Jughead and now I’m pretty sure he’s my sugar daddy.” 

Veronica pulls away from her completely and Betty’s worried she’s said something wrong until she notices that Veronica’s suddenly not crying anymore and instead she has a wide grin on her face. 

“I knew it!” She screams and Betty jumps back at the loud tone. “I knew there was something there!” 

“Wait,” Betty shakes her head and looks around to make sure she isn’t having some kind of weird out of body experience right now. “Are you telling me that you just lied about all of that to get me to tell you the truth about Jughead?” 

“Yes, well no. Come on, B. I’m a lot more secure about my sexuality than to have a breakdown in some stranger’s kitchen over a _threesome_ , are you kidding me? But I did have one with Sweet Pea and Toni and then there was this other night with just Sweet Pea and oh, my God, Betty. I never thought that someone’s height would match what they’re packing down there, but--.”

“VERONICA!” She yells. “I don’t want your sex details, are you serious right now?” She tries to wrap her head around the conversation she’s just had with her best friend. In the end, she can’t. “I don’t know what just happened here.”

“I was tired of talking about Archie,” Veronica says with a shrug. “I wanted to talk about more interesting things.”

“And that happens to be our sex lives?” 

“Yes, well more so yours. You are the one sleeping with a hot, rich guy, aren’t you?” She tosses back whatever’s in her red solo cup. “I’m also a little bit drunk so I can’t deal with whatever heavy conversation you were just trying to have. We don’t have to talk about your sugar daddy, but we also aren’t going to talk about whatever’s going on with Archie, okay? This party is for fun and as far as I’m concerned, boys are not fun. Now come on, let's get you a drink and _have some fun_.” 

“I don’t know if I really feel like drinking tonight, V.” 

“Then don’t drink,” Veronica says with a smile that lets Betty know she’s thinking the exact opposite. “But you do need to come dance with me right now.” 

Betty smiles back even as she rolls her eyes, but she allows herself to be guided out of the kitchen and into the living room, where loud music courses through her entire body. Everyone around here is currently some kind of buzzed and she realizes that she looks a little odd, standing here and not really knowing what to do with herself.

 _Well,_ she thinks to herself, _Jughead did say to have fun._

“Hey, V,” she says, “I think I will have that drink.” 

Veronica’s smile widens. “There’s my girl.” 

.

.

.

She feels good. She feels light and her head’s spinning gently, in a way that almost makes her feel like she’s floating. She doesn’t feel sick, she feels _amazing_. 

She doesn’t really know how long she’s been here at this party and her arms are way too heavy to reach into the back of her jeans to pull out her phone. It doesn’t really matter how long she’s been here because she’s having fun and she feels good and afterall, that’s what Jughead told her to do. She’s only following his rules. 

She hasn’t seen Veronica in a while now, but it doesn’t really bother her. She’d found Kevin at some point and it had been nice talking to him and his boyfriend. She’d had a really nice conversation with some girl in the restroom, although now that she thinks about it, she isn’t too sure how they ended up in there at the same time. Some guy had also invited her to do lines of coke with him and when she declined, he told her ‘cool’ and to have a good, blessed night before giving her a hug. She’d never met so many nice people before.

All in all, her night’s going pretty good. 

And of course, as soon as she thinks those words, she regrets them. 

“Betty?” 

It doesn’t matter how drunk she is, she still recognizes that damn voice. 

“Reggie Mantle!” She sings as she turns around and looks at him through bleary eyes. He’s frowning at her, she thinks, but she can’t really tell. Now that she’s standing up instead of sitting on the couch, everything’s a little more blurry. “How’s it going?” 

“Good,” he says slowly. “You here by yourself?” 

“Nuh uh. Veronica’s here!” She gestures to her empty side. “Somewhere…” 

“You’ve been drinking a lot?” 

“No.” 

“How much have you had?” 

“One,” she hums. “Maybe two. Five? I think… there was a keg stand.” 

“A keg…” he sputters out, shaking his head. “You did a keg stand? Jesus, Cooper.” 

“Betty!” She says. “Not Jesus.” 

He snorts and she smiles at him. 

“This is nice,” Betty says with a dopey smile on her face. 

“What is?” 

“Talking to you like this; when I’m… drunk and not so mad. It’s nice.” And it is. He’d been her best friend once upon a time, someone she could talk to constantly, and it sucked to not have that anymore. Losing her best friend was probably worse than losing her boyfriend.

“Yeah,” he agrees. “It is.” He looks around before sighing. “Look, I don’t see Veronica anywhere and you probably shouldn’t be here by yourself. What do you say we get some food in you? There’s a Waffle House near by. You still like their chocolate chip waffles, don’t you?” 

The thought of food is amazing and her stomach aches to have something in it that isn’t whatever mixed drinks she’s been downing all night. But she still shakes her head. 

“It’s okay,” she says. “I have plans. Someone’s picking me up.” 

“Someone? Who?” 

“Just someone. See you later, Reggie!” 

She walks away from him, a bit of a stumble in her step, and talks off towards the front door. She doesn’t really feel like being at the party anymore, her talk with Reggie had killed her buzz and now she just really wants some fresh air. She also really wants her buzz back. On her way out of the house, she grabs a red solo cup from some random guy and he cheers as she high fives him.

As soon as she’s outside, she breathes in deeply and shivers. The air feels good, but she didn’t bring a jacket with her and it’s more than a little chilly outside. She takes a sip from the cup and winces. Whatever’s in this had been a hell of a lot stronger than the stuff she’d been drinking. It send warmth through her but she’s still cold. She runs her hands up and down her arms and stops as she hits the cuff that Jughead had placed on her earlier tonight. She fingers it lightly and smiles at the thought of him. She wonders if he’s still awake. He said that he’d be up, but she doesn’t know if that’s actually true. 

She pulls out her phone from her back pocket and gasps when she realizes the time. Her vision’s still a little blurred, but she can tell that it’s at least two in the morning. With shaky fingers, she unlocks her phone and goes to her contacts, clicking on Jughead’s number and hoping that he’s still awake right now. 

The line rings once and then a deep voice picks up. 

“Hello.” 

“Hi!” 

“Hi.” There’s some shuffling. 

“It’s Betty,” she says happily before sitting down on some stranger’s lawn. Her eyes are getting kind of heavy and she pulls up her knees to rest her head against them. 

“Yes,” he drags out. “I do have caller I.D., you know.” Betty nods before realizing that he can’t actually see her. “Are you still at your party?”

“Yes, well... no, not really.”

“Not really?” 

“I got bored,” she giggles then takes another sip of her drink. “It’s really cold.” 

“Cold?” His voice loses its playfulness. “Betty, where exactly are you?” 

She hums out and opens her eyes to look around her quickly before placing her head back into her knees. “I don’t really know,” she admits. “Someone’s lawn. The grass smells really nice.”

“The grass…? Jesus Christ. Send me your location and stay put. I’ll be there in a minute.” 

“Yes, sir,” she chuckles. 

There’s a pause before he’s talking again. “Are you… have you been drinking?” 

“Mmm, not really. Maybe a little.” She glances down at the drink in her hand and smirks. “Only one drink, I promise!” 

“Okay,” he says uneasily. “Just stay put for me, alright? I’ll be there in a few minutes.” 

“Okay!” She says happily. 

She hangs up the phone and shares her location with Jughead before placing it onto the ground next to her. She wasn’t exactly calling Jughead so that he’d come pick her up, but she was excited for the change of plans. Spending time with him was fun. They didn’t do much. Most days they just spent their time wrapped up in his sheets. Occasionally they’d go out for breakfast somewhere but that was few and between. Jughead seemed to be somewhat of a busy man and even if Betty wasn’t a hundred percent sure what exactly it was that he did, she could still respect how serious he took his work. Besides, he’s not her boyfriend. They didn’t need to go out on dates or anything like that. She’s fine with the way things are for now. 

After what seems like just a few short seconds, a sleek black Bentley convertible pulls up in front of the house she’s currently trespassing on and she looks up as the engine dies down. 

“Wow,” she whispers to herself. Jughead gets out of the car and slams the door behind himself. He doesn’t look very pleased, but Betty doesn’t focus on that. Instead she focuses on the black jeans that are hugging him just right, and the white button up shirt that’s showing off his entire chest. “Yummy.” 

“What?” Jughead asks as he gets closer to her. 

“My tummy,” she corrects. “Hurts.” 

He shakes his head as he kneels down in front of her. “God, Betty. Have you even eaten anything today?” She giggles for some reason and he frowns deeper. “You smell like alcohol. I thought you said you only had one drink?”

“Oops,” she laughs and shows him the drink that’s currently still in her hands. “See, one! I also did a keg stand! Does that count as one drink?” 

Jughead’s eyes widen before he shakes his head. He takes the cup away from her and tosses out the remains. Betty frowns at the loss of her drink. “If you were sober, you’d be in so trouble for lying to me. Come on,” he says, holding a hand out to her. “Let’s take you home.” He walks her over to the car and pulls out a black leather jacket from the back seat that he tugs over her shoulders. The jacket smells good and Betty breathes it in, wanting to be wrapped up in it forever. He actually buckles her into the passenger seat himself and Betty laughs the entire time, complaining that he’s tickling her. He looks a bit annoyed, but her mind doesn’t register it at all. She’s having the time of her life. 

When he starts up the car, she immediately goes for the radio station. 

“I love this song!” She screeches as she turns it up louder. “Way down we go, oh oh oh oh…” 

“What happened to not feeling up to a party?” Jughead asks, cutting off her singing. “You look like you more than enjoyed it.” He doesn’t sound pleased and Betty isn’t sure why not.

“You told me to have fun,” she says. “So I did!” She looks over to him and sees that he still isn’t smiling. She hasn’t seen him smile once since he picked her up and she doesn’t like it. “Did you have a nice night?” 

“Did I…?” He laughs, but it’s humorless. “Sure, Betty, yeah. I had a great night.” 

“Good!” She smiles again, taking his word for it. “I like this car.” She runs her hands over the side of it. The wind is hitting her face and it feels really good, but that might be because she’s just really drunk right now. She looks around and smiles as she sees that they’re alone on the road. The party had been on the outskirts of town and that means it’ll be a little while before they’re around anyone else. “Can I give you a blowjob?” 

The car swerves as Jughead curses to himself. _“What?”_

“You know,” she looks at him with big eyes as she leans over the console, “a blowjob! This car is nice.” 

“What does my car being nice have to do with a blowjob?” 

“It turns me on.” Jughead looks at her like she’s insane but she doesn’t understand why he’s not _getting it_. “Please?” 

“No,” he says firmly. “You’re drunk and you… just no. We’re going to get some food in your stomach and then I’m taking you home and you’re going to sleep, okay?” 

“That’s boring,” she pouts as she flings herself back into the seat. “You are boring.” 

“Am I?” 

She nods. “Why are you taking me home?” 

“Because you’re drunk, Betty. I’m also sure that Veronica doesn’t need to have another freak out when she realizes that you aren’t home.” 

“Ugh! She doesn’t care.” When he doesn’t budge, she knows that there’s no use trying to argue with him. “Will you at least stay with me?” 

He turns to look at her briefly and she’s annoyed that she can never tell what exactly he’s thinking. She likes to think that she’s pretty good at reading most people, but Jughead Jones remains a mystery. She wasn’t sure if she found that annoying or attractive. Probably a little bit of both. 

“Are you hungry?”

“No. Answer my question.” He looks at her and she glares. “Will you stay with me?” 

“If I say yes will you let me buy you food?” 

“Only if you mean it.” 

He laughs. “You are something else, Betty Cooper. Yes, I’ll stay with you.” 

“Okay. I want McDonalds.” 

Jughead shakes his head in disgust but she knows that he’ll listen to her. She closes her eyes, finally feeling a headache start to come on as the buzz starts to fade away without her constant intake of alcohol. Now everything just seems like it’s spinning around in circles for her. As they get closer and closer to the city, the lights start to look prettier and prettier, even if they are all fuzzy. 

She picks up her feet and places them against the dashboard and yelps out as Jughead’s hand swats them away. 

“Take your feet off my dashboard.” 

“Ugh,” she groans. “Yes, sir.” 

“Stop calling me that,” he says. “It makes me feel old.” 

“You are old,” she reminds him and then smiles as he glares at her. “Okay, fine. What would you prefer?” 

“My name is fine.” 

“That’s boring!” She hums out like she’s thinking and Jughead rolls his eyes.

“I swear, you’re not going to think I’m boring when I’m done with you.” 

“Huh?” Betty says, not sure if she heard him right or if she’s just that drunk.

“Nothing, Betty.”

“Okay, daddy.” 

This time the car actually _does_ swerve into the other lane and Jughead’s hands clench the steering wheel tightly, turning his knuckles white. Betty smirks. 

“Betty…” he starts, giving her a warning look. 

“Yes, daddy?” 

He narrows his eyes but doesn’t say anything back. She counts it as a win and she’ll have to store it away in her memory for later. For now though, she just turns up the radio and sings along to the song playing; something about walking on water. It has a catchy tune and she can see that Jughead’s itching to turn it off and that makes her love it even more. 

 

By the time they finally get to the McDonalds drive thru, Betty isn’t feeling so buzzed anymore. Instead she has a headache that’s pounding away at her and her head is placed in between her legs as she groans out her order to Jughead. 

“Hey, are you sure you’re okay, little one?” And bless him, he actually does look really concerned now. Betty doesn’t even understand where this sudden wave of sickness came from. She was fine just a while ago. She should have known better though. She hasn’t gotten drunk in a while and she really went all out tonight. She suddenly feels really embarrassed. She’s a twenty year old college student, fresh out of a house party and obviously drunk as hell and a rich, older, way more mature man is sitting next to her in his god damn _Bentley_ and Betty just really wishes she would have left with Reggie instead. At least she wouldn’t care about embarrassing herself in front of him. Jughead though? Now that was a whole other story. 

“Yeah,” she nods as she keeps her eyes closed tightly. “I’ll be fine once I have some chicken nuggets in me.” 

He reaches over and places a hand over hers. She hadn’t realized how badly she was shaking until his touch. She opens her eyes up slowly and tries to give him what she hopes is a reassuring smile. 

“Hey, Jughead,” she says softly, trying not to upset her stomach even more, “I like it when you call me little one. It’s cute.” Pet names had always been a soft spot for her. Sure, being called babe or baby was nice, but this one felt different. It felt like something Jughead only used with her and he was definitely the only man to ever call her it. It felt like _theirs_ in a way and that was nice all on its own.

“We’re going to be at your place soon,” he comforts her, squeezing her hand as he says the words. He brings her hand up with his and kisses the back of it softly. “You can sleep and then in the morning we can talk about how you obviously cannot handle your liquor.” 

“Sure, daddy.” 

He squeezes her hand a little harder and she laughs before wincing at the pain that it causes. Before either of them can say anything else, the lady at the window is handing Jughead the bag of food and Betty takes it quickly and dives in, munching down on a nugget like it’s the last thing she’ll ever eat. 

“Slow down,” Jughead orders but he says it gently and with a smile. Betty smiles back at him before taking a bite out of another nugget. 

“Thank you,” she tells him. “You didn’t need to do all this.” 

“I didn’t do anything,” he says with an eyeroll. “I just bought you greasy food that’s bad for your health. You know I could have made you something way better than that junk.”

“Debatable. Nuggets are the food of the Gods.” She tosses back another one and pauses as she gets an ugly feeling in her stomach. “Jughead….” 

“What? Your five star food not up to your standards?” He takes a rather sharp turn and Betty realizes just how fast they’re actually going. “Pretty sure there’s a Jack-In-The-Box somewhere near us if you’re feeling picky tonight.”

The thought of another burger joint makes her gag. “Jug… Jughea--.”

“Betty?” He turns to look at her quickly. “Oh, fuck. No. No. No.” 

“I’m sorry,” she cries. 

And then she throws up on the floor of his car.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Betty and Jughead realize a few things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: This story is going to be full of smut with a side of plot!   
> Me: Comes up with so much fucking plot and does.... _this._
> 
> I swear this ending was supposed to be different. Don't kill me.   
> Thanks to Ten for helping me reach 10k words on this chapter. Sad boi Jug thanks you. (Kind of.)

Her throat feels like it’s scorching. Either she drank way too much last night, or she’s suddenly become a dragon with the capacity to breathe fire. There’s a pounding in her head that somehow feels sharp and achy all at the same time. As she opens up her eyes slowly and the sunlight hits them, she hisses, which only causes the pain to become more prominent. Her body feels hot, like even crawling out of her skin wouldn’t cool her down enough. In her exhausted haze, she kicks off all of the sheets from her body, kicking the sweaty covers off her legs and reaches down to the hem of her shirt, pulling it off of her body blindly. 

“Do you always strip in your sleep?” 

The voice is loud and _bitchy_. She hisses again but this time she forces herself to open up her eyes too. Everything is blurry for a minute and she blinks a few times to try and clear her vision. When she does, she sees Jughead Jones sitting in her pink, oversized moon chair, with a stern and disgruntled expression, looking completely out of place in her room. 

“Jughead?” She croaks out, her throat feeling like sandpaper the entire time. “What the hell are you doing here?” 

“Oh, you know, just hanging out.” 

“Okay?” She sits up in her bed and her body yells at her in protest. She’s suddenly aware that she’s completely topless in front of him, but she doesn’t care. He’s seen way more anyway, so it’s a bit too late for modesty. “Can you close the blinds, please? I don’t feel too good and the sun is so bright.” 

“Yes. I think that’s its job. The sun does usually shine at one in the afternoon.” He sounds annoyed, but he still gets up to close the blinds for her. 

“It’s one?” She groans. “Jesus Christ. What the hell happened last night?” 

“Well, you went to a party and you called me to pick you up. I have no idea what happened at the party except that you apparently had ‘one drink’ plus a keg stand.” 

“A keg stand?” She questions. “I don’t know how to do a keg stand.” 

“Must be your drunk alter ego.” She ignores the comment and he hands her a glass of water that had been next to him. “Here, drink this.”

She does as he instructs and then puts the glass on her bedside table. 

“I still don’t understand why you’re here,” she says. 

“Well, I would have loved to leave you stranded on the side of the street after you threw up in my brand new Bentley, but unfortunately I have manners. Unlike you, since you threw up in my brand new Bentley.” 

Betty looks at him, waiting for him to laugh and say ‘just kidding’ but when he doesn’t, when he just keeps glaring at her like she murdered his entire family, she knows that he’s not joking around. She can _feel_ her cheeks heat up in mortification. But another part still wants to throttle him for being so mad and treating her like a child. Unfortunately, she’s too tired to act on that part right now, so she settles for reddening cheeks and shameful silence.

“I didn’t,” she whispers in horror. 

“You did,” he clarifies. “In fact, if you don’t believe me, you can gladly go and check it out for yourself. I spent all night cleaning it up but I didn’t really get much done since you were crying the entire time about it.” 

“Jughead, I am so s-.” 

“If you’re going to say you’re sorry, don’t bother,” he snaps. “You apologized for an hour afterwards and if I have to hear it one more time, I swear to God I’m going to lose my mind.” 

“Why are you being so mean to me?” She whispers. “I was drunk! I don’t even remember any of this. You can’t be mad at me for something I don’t remember!” 

“I’m mad because you called me to pick you up at nearly three in the morning and when I did, you threw up all over the floor of my _brand new car_! It’s not exactly how I wanted my night to go, Betty.”

“Nobody forced you to pick me up!” She yells at him, ignoring the pounding in her head that follows it. 

“Oh yeah,” he snorts as he gets up from the chair, towering over her and making her feel so small with her knees pulled up to her chest on the bed. “So you’d have rather had me leave you on the front lawn of some stranger’s house? Jesus Christ, Betty! You were drunk out of your mind, you could have been…” he trails off and inhales sharply through his nose, running his hands through his hair in anger. “You really don’t know how to handle your liquor, do you?” 

Suddenly a memory from last night comes back to her.

_“Hey, Jughead,” she says softly, “I like it when you call me little one. It’s cute.”_

_“We’re going to be at your place soon,” he says just as tenderly. He squeezes her hand and then brings it up to his lips, kissing it gently. “You can sleep and then in the morning we can talk about how you obviously cannot handle your liquor.”_

_“Sure, daddy.”_

“Oh my gosh,” she whispers in horror, bringing her hands up to her mouth and covering it. “I called you daddy.”

He pauses and for a moment, the anger on his face melts away. Maybe she can’t handle her liquor, but he can’t hide a shitfaced grin.

“That’s really not relevant right now, Betty.” He tries to get stern again, and succeeds at it because the grin is now gone, and replaced with more frustration.

As she thinks back on the entire night, her eyes start to water in embarrassment and she covers her face with her comforter. 

“I’m sorry,” she cries in the comfort of her blanket. “And I know you said to stop apologizing but I just remembered everything and I’m so sorry for acting like that.” She peeks out from under the cover and looks at him. He doesn’t look mad, but the void look is still on his face and she doesn’t know _what_ he’s thinking. “You probably hate me now, don’t you?” 

Finally, he sighs out and walks over to the bed to sit down in front of her. He places a hand on her knee squeezes it. 

“I don’t hate you, Betty. I just… I just don’t know what to do with you.” 

“What do you mean?” 

He opens his mouth and then closes it again. “Nothing. Look, why don’t you take a shower and get cleaned up? How do you feel? Are you okay?” 

She brings a hand up to her head and shrugs. “I mean, yeah? My head kind of hurts but I think I’ll be okay. Maybe I do just need a shower.”

He stands up and holds out his hand to help her off the bed. “Come on, let’s clean you up.”

She stumbles getting off the bed, but once she’s back on her own two feet and balanced, she takes it and follows him into her restroom. She doesn’t ask him how he knew where to go. She really doesn’t want to know. She feels like she can remember small flashes of him holding her hair as she laid against the toilet seat, but she likes to think of that as just a bad dream. 

He turns on the water to her shower and Betty focuses on brushing her teeth and using mouthwash to get the burning out of her throat. Once she’s minty fresh again, she washes off her face real quick, getting the remains of last night’s makeup off of it. As she brings her hand up, she sees the black and gold cuff that he had given her yesterday. She runs her fingers over it and tries to ignore the way it makes butterflies soar throughout her stomach.

She takes it off and turns around to face him. 

“Here,” she says softly. “I’m sure you want this back.” 

He looks at it and seems to be thinking something over before he shakes his head. “Keep it. It looks nice on your wrist.” She smiles and places it onto the countertop behind her. He doesn’t say anything else on the matter as he turns around to mess with the water again. “Too hot?” Jughead asks as he grabs her hand and places it under the water. She shakes her head. 

“Just right.” 

“Get in then.” 

She takes off her underwear and steps into the shower before looking over at him, biting her lip nervously. 

“Get in with me?” She asks, gingerly. He could still be mad about last night, and all evidence suggests he still is. “I don’t really feel like moving my arms to wash my hair…” 

Jughead smiles at her. It’s the first time he’s really smiled at her all morning and she tries to ignore just how happy that makes her. 

“Asking me to shower with you? You’re scandalous, Betty Cooper.” But he sheds his clothes either way and climbs in with her. It’s the first time they’ve ever showered together and for some reason it feels much more intimate than anything else they’ve ever done before.

“About earlier,” Jughead says as he runs a hand over Betty’s limp hair, “I’m sorry I was so mean. It was just frustrating.” 

“I’m sure having a random girl throw up in your car was more than frustrating,” Betty deadpans. 

“Not that,” he says with an eye roll. “I took care of that. It was frustrating finding you all by yourself in the middle of nowhere.” Frustrating wasn’t exactly the right word, but he kept going. “I thought you were going to be safe last night and you weren’t. You were drunk, by yourself, and at a place you didn’t even know. You can’t… you can’t just do things like that, Betty.” 

“I’m sorry,” she whispers and looks down. “I just remember Reggie trying to take me to Waffle House and me telling him no and then the next thing I know, I was in your car.” 

“Reggie?” He asks as he tilts her head up, locking their eyes together. “Your ex?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Did he try anything?” There’s an edge to his voice and Betty shakes her head quickly because she knows what he’s implying in his question and then winces at the way it makes her feel. 

“No, no. God, no. Reggie’s a lot of things but he isn’t a pig. I think he was just worried about me. It was sorta nice. It was like having the old him back.” 

“Well,” Jughead says as he clears his throat and pulls away from her, not realizing he had unconsciously stepped a lot closer to her when she brought up Reggie. “I’m glad you decided to call me. I just wish you would have done it at the party and stayed there.” 

“Next time I’ll be safer,” she promises. 

“Next time?” He raises an eyebrow. “Baby, next time I’ll be damned if I sit back and let you get drunk like that on your own.” 

Betty laughs. “You know… I think calling you daddy has never been more appropriate.”

“You really need to stop with that.” 

Warm water pours over her entire body and she thinks maybe that’s why she’s being so brave right now. She’s never been really kinky before and she’s sure as hell never acted on any of her secret kinks, but right now, standing naked in front of Jughead in her shower, she’s somehow never felt more brave. 

“Are you sure?” She asks, a teasing tone in her voice. She steps closer to him, her chest pressing against his. It feels different, to have their wet bodies pressed against each other. It feels _better_. She reaches up and places her palm against his cheek. He leans into her touch and she smiles at the small show of affection. “I think you like it.” 

“Do you?” 

“Mhm,” she hums. He looks down at her, eyes burning with passion. It’s the first time that she’s been able to read him properly, because if he were a book it would be one of ciphers that have no key. His hands grip her waist tightly and she bites her lip to stop the smirk from forming on her face. “Don’t you,” she whispers as she stands on her tippy toes, bringing their faces closer together, “ _daddy?_ ” 

She doesn’t even have time to blink before he’s pressing his lips against hers harshly. It’s rougher than any of the times they’ve kissed in the past and she moans into it, loving the way he completely takes charge. He pushes her under the water and it washes over them as they get lost in each other. They’re wet and it’s slippery and Betty tightens her hold on his arms, scared to fall. 

“I got you,” Jughead whispers against her lips. “I got you.” 

And she believes him, with every part of her body. 

.

.

.

“You could stay,” Betty offers once they’ve both dried off and gotten into clean clothes. She’d given him some of Archie’s clothes that never made their way back to the redhead. They don’t really fit and the Riverdale Bulldogs football shirt looks ridiculous on Jughead as do the shorts, but he doesn’t complain because they’re made of that cheap, stretchy but insanely soft material that high school sports uniforms seem to come in. 

“We could get dinner or something.” It’s only a little after three, but by the time she actually finds something to cook and then _actually_ cooks it, it’ll be dinner time.

“Or something?” Jughead laughs. “No. Thanks, though. I...uh, have some business stuff to take care of.” 

“Oh.” She walks over to her moon chair and sits on it as she watches Jughead put on his shoes. “What kind of business stuff?” 

There’s a pause in his movement, one that she wouldn’t have noticed at all if she hadn’t been already looking at him so fiercely, and then he’s turning to look at her with a smile that looks a little too forced. 

“Just some club stuff.” 

“So are you going to be at the club tonight?” 

“I don’t know. What’s with twenty questions, Betty? Why the sudden interest in my evening activities?” 

Truth is, she doesn’t have an honest answer for that. She’s not even sure if she has an answer at all. She’s just interested, plain and simple. So she just shrugs her shoulders. 

“I’m not,” she says. “I was just curious.” 

“Well, don’t be. This isn’t like that, Betty. You don’t need to worry about my business.” She doesn’t know if he means it metaphorically or literally, but either way, she hears him loud and clear. It takes her off guard though. He had been fine just a few moments ago and she’s not sure how someone can go from hot to cold so fast, but she decides not to push her luck. After all, she did throw up in his _brand new_ car last night. She supposes she doesn’t really have any room to be pushing any kind of questions.

The words “this isn’t like that” still sting, because on some subconscious level, she knows it’s about them.

“Right. Yeah.” She shakes her head and smiles at him, forcing herself to push away her invasive thoughts. “Call me later?” 

“Sure.” He walks over to her and presses his lips to her forehead lightly. “Eat something.” 

She nods and watches as he walks out of her bedroom. Not even ten seconds later, Veronica is running into the room and throwing herself onto Betty’s bed. She’s still in her pajamas and Betty’s sure that she’s just woken up. 

“Okay! What was that? What happened last night? I tried looking for you and Reggie said you ran off. He was really worried.” 

Betty suddenly feels bad for making him feel worried over her, worried enough to tell Veronica too.

“Since when do you care what Reggie feels?”

“Since I was worried too,” Veronica says sharply. “Seriously, Betty. This is the second time you’ve done this. I’m totally all for one night stands and whatever nonsense they might entail, but you really need to tell me what you’re doing, especially when we go to parties together. I didn’t know if you were safe or if some stupid frat asshole was messing with you.” She suddenly looks visibly upset, and now Betty really does feel like shit. 

“You were drunk and if something would have happened to you, I would never forgive myself. I would never be okay after that.” Veronica reads the remorse on Betty’s face and softens her tone. “Just… keep me in the loop, okay? I can’t lose you.” 

Betty gives her a soft smile and puts her arms around her best friend, hugging her tightly against her. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t even think about how much you’d worry. I promise, next time I’ll keep you in the loop.” She gives her a smile, before something dawns on her. “Speaking of keeping people in the loop, that stuff about Toni and Sweet Pea… is it true?” 

Veronica’s cheeks turn a shade darker and Betty tilts her head at her. It’s not like her best friend to get so shy over things like this. 

“Yeah, it is. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I just… I don’t even really know what the hell’s going on myself.” 

“It’s okay,” Betty says as she reaches out to hold her best friend’s hand. “I think I’m in the same boat right now too.” She thinks about Jughead and his hot and cold, this-then-that attitude. She wants to know more about him, but at the same time she’s so scared. He doesn’t seem like the type of guy to play games and she doesn’t think of this as a game, not exactly. He’d been very upfront about what he wanted and it was exactly what she wanted too. She didn’t want anything serious, but she also didn’t understand why she couldn’t know more about him, why he had to be so cut off from her while being so close at the same time. It annoyed her that he was basically still a stranger even though they’d been “seeing” each other for a few weeks now. 

“How did that even happen?” Veronica asks, frowning slightly. “I mean, don’t take this the wrong way, but a sugar daddy? B, that doesn’t really sound like you.” 

Betty nods, because well, Veronica’s right. It’s _not_ like her at all. She’s not even the type of girl to have one night stands and yet here she is, in some kind of weird booty call/sugar baby relationship. It’s weird. She’d only ever been with one guy her whole life and now she was just some man’s lady of the night. She ignores how it actually stings to refer to herself that way. 

“I don’t know,” she answers honestly. “Maybe it’s just what I need. Maybe I need to be reckless and have a little bit of fun. Jughead’s fun.” At least that much is the truth. He is fun when he’s not switching up on her. Betty had actually been surprised by just how well they’d gotten along. They didn’t just go to sleep after sex. Sometimes they would talk; never about anything serious, of course not, but Betty knew that Jughead was a die hard Tony Stark fan. She knew that the first “adult” book he ever read was The Tommyknockers by Stephen King. She knows that he loves curly fries and chocolate milkshakes and that he hates the smell of vanilla scented candles. 

These were things she’d picked up during their pillowtalk and they were hardly deep, intimate secrets at all. They hardly told her anything about him, but still. She’d like to think that maybe not everyone knew these frivolous facts. She liked to think that their pillowtalk might be something almost sacred. She knew the chances of that being true were very slim, but she could dream.

“Is he?” 

Betty nods. “Yeah.” 

“Do you guys go on dates? Is that how he’s fun? Does he take you out?” 

“Well, no.” Absentmindedly, she plays with the cuff that’s still around her wrist. She’d put it on after her shower, liking the way it felt on her. Veronica’s eyes follow her hand movements and she frowns when she sees what Betty’s playing with.

“Did he buy you that too?” 

“No. It’s actually his. He gave it to me to wear last night and when I tried to give it back to him, he told me to keep it.” Veronica nods and Betty sighs because she can already see the distaste in her friend’s eyes. “It’s not a big deal, V. It’s just a cuff. 

“Yeah, _just_. Look, Betty, you’re my girl and I’m going to support you a hundred percent, no matter what. You know that. If you’re fine with this whole arrangement then I’m happy for you, by all means, go get that rich dick.” Betty snorts because it’s a nice joke, to step back and realize Jughead pretty much is just some rich dick at the moment, and Veronica smiles slightly. “But I’m worried. I _know_ you. You fall fast and you fall hard and you don’t even know when it’s happening half the time. Remember Trev in high school?” 

She buries her face in her hands, and her best friend stifles a laugh.   
“Veronica, come on!” 

“I’m just saying!” She holds her hands up in defense. “Look, all I’m trying to tell you here is that you’re not a no-strings-attached kind of girl. You never have been. Sex is not just getting off to you, Betty. And it sounds like Jughead has never been anything _but_ no-strings-attached. I just don’t want to see you get hurt.” 

“Come on,” Betty groans with a roll of her eyes. “It’s not like that, okay? It’s not even anything exclusive. We can hook up with other people. I could sleep with someone else right now if I wanted to!” She falters for a second. She says the words, but they don’t feel right coming out of her mouth and she doesn’t know why. Maybe because physically, yes, she could go hook up with anyone right now, but emotionally? Not so much. “That’s how not attached I am to this entire situation.” Her mouth tastes bitter with lies.

Veronica raises an eyebrow. “Is that so?” 

“Yes?” 

“Okay, great to hear! Because Toni asked me to go to the club tonight and I really want you to come with me.” 

“Really?” Betty asks with a frown. “Jughead’s club? You want me to hook up with someone else at _his_ club? Isn’t that a little...wrong? And twisted?” 

“Technically it’s his sister’s club, remember? That’s what you told me! And it’s only wrong if you guys were exclusive, which you aren’t, you literally just said so. Besides, who says he’ll even be there?” 

“Why do you always want to party?” Betty whines. “We literally were just at a house party last night! I was so drunk I threw up in Jughead’s Bentley! Why can’t we ever just do normal things, and go watch a movie or something?” 

“Because that’s boring,” Veronica says with a look of disgust. “We’re young, beautiful college girls! It’s Christmas break and we deserve to party as much as we can handle before we have to go back to school. Don’t you agree?” 

“No! Considering college is just one big frat party when you’re friends with Veronica Lodge!”

“I know right?” The brunette giggles as she stands up from the bed. “Isn’t it just amazing?”

“Veronica…” 

“Please?” She begs, pouting in that cute little way that she knows Betty can’t resist. “I think we deserve to have a little bit of fun. Who knows, maybe you’ll meet the man of your dreams.” 

“Highly unlikely,” she snorts. “But fine, we can go, but only if you promise to go see that new romcom with me this weekend.” 

Veronica makes a face but finally nods. 

“Deal.” 

“Okay. So do I get to raid your closet or what?”

Betty laughs as her best friend lets out a loud squeal and she thinks that she might do anything in the world if it kept Veronica this happy. 

.

.

.

Betty regrets her decision to go along with her best friend’s perpetually bad habits as soon as they step foot in the club. 

It’s completely packed and for some reason that makes her feel more anxious than anything else. They spot Toni early on and Veronica nearly sprints over to the pink haired girl. Betty’s having a hard time trying to decipher just what the hell is going on in her best friend’s life, but she decides not to pry. If Veronica’s having fun then who the hell is she to say anything about it? 

“Hey,” Toni says to her once she pulls away from Veronica. She’s absolutely stunning in an outfit that shows off a lot more skin than it hides and for a moment Betty wonders what she would look like in something like that. Toni pulls it off really well. “You’re Betty, right? J’s girl.” 

“I’m sorry, what?” 

“Jughead,” Toni says with a playful smile, as if _that’s_ the reason Betty’s thrown off by her statement. “You’re hot. I can see why he had to have you.” The playful look in her eyes has Betty feeling a little dizzy and she quickly shakes her head, blaming the loud music for confusing her. 

“Thanks. Um, I’m not his girl though.” 

“No?” Toni asks, raising an eyebrow as she steps closer towards Betty. Veronica puts a hand on her arm and pulls her back, whispering something in her ear. Betty has no clue what she says but it makes Toni smirk. “Sounds fake considering the way he talks about you. Well, either way, it’s nice to finally meet you. I’m Toni.” 

“Nice to meet you.” Betty looks around for a moment before turning back towards the other two girls. “He’s not here tonight, is he?” 

“J? I’m not sure. I just got here. Why? Do you want him to be? Because I can do that.” 

“I don’t know,” Betty answers honestly. Before anything else can be said, there’s a tap on her shoulder and she turns around to see a man she’s never seen before standing in front of her. 

Her immediate thought is that he’s handsome, like movie star handsome. He has long curly hair and dark eyes that have her thinking of Jon Snow. He’s smiling down at her and his teeth are so white that she’s sure he has to have a brand deal with Colgate. 

“Hi,” she says, but it comes out sounding more like a question than a greeting. 

“Hi.” Her knees nearly go out at the sound of his accent. It’s Australian and it’s hot as hell. “I’m Ian.” 

“Betty,” she says quickly. “I’m Betty.” 

“Well, Betty, can I buy you a drink?” 

She turns around to look at Veronica and Toni. Veronica’s grinning at her and nodding while Toni has a smirk on her face and a gleam in her eyes that makes Betty feel like she knows something none of them do. 

“Um, sure,” she says as she turns back towards him. “That’d be nice.” 

They walk over to the bar together in silence. It’s way too loud to even attempt conversation right now and Betty’s a little thankful for the silence. She’s also confused. Why does this club seem to attract hot guys to her? First Jughead and now Ian? Who was next? 

“Do you have anything specific in mind?” Ian asks when they finally take a seat at the bar. 

“Um, not really.” She doesn’t want to disclose the information that she’s underage, scared that he’ll think her a child and run away. She also doesn’t want to seem like she’s never had a drink before. So she does what any sane person would do and blurts out the name of Veronica’s go to drink. “A Long Island Iced tea sounds good actually.” 

“Classy,” he says with a grin. “I like it.” He orders their drinks and Betty hides her face from the bartender for reasons she can’t even begin to explain. “So Betty, what do you do?” 

“What do I do?” She asks, a confused expression on her face. 

“Yeah. For work.”

Work. Right. Shit. How does she go about telling this man that she’s currently twenty years old and unemployed because she lives with her best friend whose very wealthy dad pays for their apartment, and because her current sugar daddy gets her everything else she could want. Does she tell him she’s a student? She has no clue how to do any of this. She tries to think back to when she met Jughead. Why had things been easier with him? In the end, she decides to lie. 

“I’m a teacher,” she says with a smile. It’s not a big lie. She had been studying to be a teacher… in her first semester of college. She knows enough about it to lie and she had also worked at an elementary school as an office aid during her senior year of high school so she feels like she can keep the lie going pretty well. 

“Oh yeah?” Ian asks, looking much more intrigued now. “What grade?” 

“Elementary school.” The bartender hands them their drinks and Betty takes a huge sip of hers, trying to get herself to shut up, and immediately regrets it. Whatever is in this drink, it’s _strong._ Not wanting to embarrass herself though, she continues to drink it. 

“That’s sweet,” Ian says. 

“Mhm,” she hums. “What about you? What do you do?” 

“You ever heard of King Enterprises?” He asks before taking a sip of his drink. 

“Yeah, I think so. That’s the really big building with the pretty Christmas tree every year, right?” Ian laughs and Betty feels a little ashamed that that’s all she knows about it, but he nods. “Oh, cool. So you work there? That must be really nice.” 

He smiles over the rim of his glass. “Yeah, I guess you could say I work there.” Betty doesn’t understand why he’s looking at her that way until a few seconds later when it finally dawns on her. 

“No, way,” she says in disbelief. “You’re a King?” 

His grins grows and she almost wants to pinch herself. 

“Not _a_ King,” he says, “ _the_ King. It’s my building, my company. I own it.” 

“Holy shit,” she whispers. “But… you’re so young. How can you even…?” 

“I’m thirty-five; not that young. Though I definitely wouldn’t call myself old either.” 

Betty nearly chokes on her drink. Fuck, what the hell was with her and older men? 

“Oh, come on,” Ian laughs, obviously seeing her reaction. “How old are you?” 

Like a deer in the headlights, she freezes before blurting out the first thing that comes to her mind. “Twenty-six.” 

“Really? You look a lot younger than that.” 

“Mhm, I have really good genes. God bless my mother!” She cringes and takes another sip of her drink. And then another. And another. 

Ian laughs and Betty wishes he would stop laughing. It’s such a beautiful sound but yet it doesn’t sound right and she really can’t deal with any of this right now. 

“Do you want to dance?” He asks her and she nods quickly. She’ll do anything to get away from all these questions and revelations. 

The dance floor is packed and they stay off to the side, not wanting to get too caught up in the crowd. The song that’s playing is fast and catchy and Betty’s starting to feel the side effects of the alcohol as she begins to move her body to the beat of the music. There’s no denying that she feels sexy tonight. Her hair is down for once and she’s wearing a tight emerald green skirt with a top to match. The skirt is just a little too short on her and the nude heels she’d matched with it make her legs look even longer and the skirt even shorter. She feels sexy and she knows she looks it too; it makes her want to act on it. It also might be the alcohol getting to her, but she steps even closer to Ian and presses their bodies together tightly as she grinds against the front of him. She can feel his chest against hers and it reminds her way too much of a night she’s trying to forget. 

She closes her eyes as Ian runs his hands over her body. They’re rough and they don’t feel right, but she decides to ignore that too. If she closes her eyes, if she pretends, then maybe it’ll be like… it’ll be like… 

_It’ll be like what?_

She snaps open her eyes and gasps. 

It should be weird, how her eyes immediately find his even in a room full of people, but there he is. 

Jughead Jones sits at the bar, back against the counter, and a dark drink in his hand that matches his eyes. His eyes are locked on hers and even as he takes a sip of his drink, they don’t leave her. She can’t help but to stare back at him, mouth slightly open, and it’s only then that she realizes he’s watching her grind on another man. She immediately feels guilty and her first reaction is to pull away from Ian and go apologize to Jughead, but then she stops herself. Why the hell would she do that? She doesn’t owe him any apologies. She thinks back to his words from earlier. 

_This isn’t like that, Betty._

Right. She closes her eyes and when she opens them again, they’re narrowed and angry as she looks over at Jughead, making sure that he knows she can see him; that she knows he’s watching her right now. She rolls her shoulders back as she grinds her hips into Ian and bites her lip. Jughead takes another sip of his drink, but doesn’t move as he continues to watch her like a hawk.

She tilts her head to the side, never taking her eyes off of Jughead, and Ian presses his lips against Betty’s neck. She shivers, but she isn’t sure if it’s at his touch or if it’s because of the way Jughead’s lip curls as he slams his drink onto the bar behind him. It’s definitely both, she decides.

Betty smirks and bites her lip. Her attention is pulled off of Jughead though as Ian reaches over to her face and pulls it closer to him. She’s confused at first before she realizes he’s trying to kiss her. She’s about to push him off of her but then something cold and wet is sliding down her back and she lets out a tiny yelp before whirling around. 

Jughead stands there, now empty glass in his hand and a glare on his face. 

“I’m so sorry, miss,” he says and Betty almost believes him. “Here, let me help you clean that up.” 

“It’s okay,” Ian says from behind her. “I’m with her. I can help her out.” 

“Are you?” Jughead snaps. 

“Excuse me?” 

“With her? Are you really with her?” 

Ian looks completely taken off guard and Betty gently touches his chest with her hand. 

“It’s okay. I’ll be right back.” 

She doesn’t offer him anything else as she stomps off towards the restrooms. She makes it a point to ignore Jughead, but he isn’t having it as he grabs her arm and leads her away from the restrooms and towards the stairwell that she knows leads to his office upstairs.

They don’t say anything to each other as he drags her away and it makes her feel a little nervous. What if she went too far and he calls off this whole thing? She wasn’t ready for that just yet. She was having too much fun. She’s not even sure why she provoked him like that. She wasn’t that kind of person; she didn’t purposely try to rile up men. She’d never done that sort of thing with Reggie. Granted he wasn’t a jealous person at all, but Betty had never given him a reason to be either. She’d never done something like this just to get his attention. 

Suddenly, she feels a lot like a child. Again. She hates that Jughead makes her feel like that a lot lately.

When they reach his office, Jughead slams the door shut and turns around to face her, fire in his eyes as he stares her down. 

“Is that why you wanted to know if I’d be here tonight?” He seethes. “So you could come and meet other people?” 

“What?” She asks, a little dazed because the effects of the drink have not subsided simply because Jughead is a little angry. “No! Toni invited Veronica and that guy just came up to me. I wasn’t trying to meet people!” She’s not even sure why she’s trying to make excuses right now, she doesn’t owe him any.   
“Why do you even care? You said it yourself, this thing we have going isn’t like _that_. I’m not your girlfriend, Jughead and we sure as hell aren’t exclusive.” 

“Oh, yeah?” He asks, looking like he’s five seconds away from either bursting out into laughter or flipping something. The drunken part of Betty’s mind hopes it’s her skirt. “Then why are you still wearing this?” He holds up her arm that, sure enough, still has his engraved cuff on it. “Next time you feel like messing around with someone else, don’t wear my shit.” 

She’s taken aback by the anger in his voice. She hadn’t expected him to act so harshly and her heart drops as she realizes that he isn’t playing the same game she thought they were. 

“Jug,” she says softly, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know it’d upset you.” She steps towards him but he takes a step back and she doesn’t know what to make of that. “Why are you even mad? I don’t understand.” 

He runs both of his hands through his hair before focusing his gaze back on her. A single curl falls against his forehead and she can’t help but want to reach out and tug on it. Something about it makes him look so boyish and cute even though she can see the anger that’s still apparent on his face. 

“Why’d you come here tonight?” 

She looks at him in confusion. “I told you, Toni invited Veronica.” 

“Okay, but why did _you_ come?” 

“Because Veronica asked me to?” She’s not sure why he needs her to spell it out for him like that, because this is unusually stupid for him.

“Mmm,” he hums out as he finally steps closer to her. “But why did you come? Was it really just because of Veronica?” 

She _should_ say yes. In fact, she almost does. But it’s a lie. She knows why she really came here tonight. It’s the same reason why she had dressed up so nice and why she wore Jughead’s cuff even though she didn’t know if he would even be here tonight. She also can’t deny that she’s glad he was; that when their eyes connected on the dancefloor, she’d realized that he was the only person she wanted to be dancing with. 

She was an idiot, but she didn’t care. 

“No,” she finally whispers. “I wanted to see you.” 

“So soon? You saw me this morning.” 

“I don’t care.” She moves closer to him and she can smell his cologne. It’s intoxicating and she needs more of it. “You left so abruptly.” 

“Betty,” he starts and she shakes her head as she moves closer to him. 

“You’re going to tell me that this isn’t like that,” she finishes for him, “and I know that; I don’t care. I’m only saying… it’s rude to just leave a girl that way.” 

Jughead looks at her like he’s studying her and then he smiles, a crooked little thing that’s playful and it eases her mind from his coldness earlier. 

“That’s not what I was going to say. I was going to say, do you really think you deserve anything else from me? After that little show out there?” Her mouth drops open and she blinks up at him, completely lost for words. He reaches out and runs a hand over her neck, down to the crease in her shirt that leads to her chest. She wonders if he can feel her heart beating. “Seeing his hands on you was one thing, but seeing his mouth on your skin?” He moves his hand to her chin and forces her to look at him. “I wanted to break his hands for even touching you.” His words should frighten her, but instead they send a chill down her spine that has her feeling like she needs to cross her legs. “I still just might.” 

“I’m sure you could put them to better use,” she breathes out. 

He doesn’t move. “Did you enjoy it?” 

“What?” She asks as she closes her eyes, the feeling of him so close to her is too much yet not enough at the same time. She doesn’t know if it’ll ever be enough. 

“Having me watch you with him? Did you enjoy it?” His hand drops from her chest and she’s about to complain, but then it’s on her thigh, trailing up her short skirt.

“Did _you_ enjoy it?” She throws back at him, voice a little shaky. “Knowing that I was just a few feet away and you weren’t the one touching me? He was a nice guy; asked me a lot of personal things and even told me a few about himself. He also has a lot of money...” She throws in, knowing it’ll get a rise out of him. Truth be told, she couldn’t give a damn about anyone’s money. She’d grown up as Veronica Lodge’s best friend and that meant getting doted on by Hermione and Hiram Lodge occasionally. But for Jughead? This entire thing was about money, no matter how much a part of her wished it wasn’t. His hand wraps around her thigh as it makes its way up and Betty spreads her legs open a little more, not even realizing it. 

“Did you want to make me jealous?” His hand finally reaches her underwear and he plays with the lace lazily. “Do you think I’m a jealous man, Betty?” 

“I don’t know,” she gasps. She does know, because her behaviour got them in this situation. She wants to move, wants to grab his hand and force it to go towards the one place she wants, but she knows he won’t appreciate that. 

“I think you do.” His fingers are still playing with the lace and it’s starting to drive her insane. “I think you’ll come to find that I’m not so keen on sharing. And Betty, if I ever see another man’s hands on you?” He leans forward and before she knows it, his mouth is on hers, hungry and angry, nearly punishing as he kisses her, and she can feel her knees start to buckle. And then he pulls away. His lips are pressed to her ear. “I will break them.” 

She freezes. She’s not even sure why she’s so bothered by his words, but they run over her like cold water and she looks at his face, trying to see if there’s anything else there, but there isn’t. He’s looking at her like he completely means it and for a moment, she’s scared. 

“But we aren’t anything,” is the only thing she can think of saying. “We aren’t exclusive, Jughead. You said so yourself.” 

“You knew we weren’t going to be.” He reminds her a bit harshly. 

She knows that he had warned her up front and truth be told, she isn’t even sure that she wants anything more from him. They’ve only been at this arrangement for a few weeks now and all in all, she’s completely fine with the way things are; she just wishes she could know more about him. She understands that they won’t ever be exchanging wedding vows, but she doesn’t see why there can’t be more to this than just sex. 

“Then why were you jealous? Why did it bother you so much to see me with Ian if we aren’t exclusive? Seriously, Jughead, you’re just the guy I’m sleeping with; nothing more. If I want to dance, or even hook up,” she gives him a pointed glare, “with other people, then I can. You aren’t my boyfriend and you’re sure as hell not my husband. _You don’t own me_.” 

He looks taken aback for a second and then he actually looks troubled. 

“I never said I owned you, Betty. What the hell?” 

“Didn’t you though?” And now for some reason, she’s furious. She doesn’t even know where this anger came from. Just seconds ago she was ready to beg him to fuck her and now she wants to throttle him across the room. 

“You just told me you’d break a man’s hands if he ever touched me! I doubt you’d actually do that, but even if you are that crazy, that’s still not your choice to make, Jughead. You are _not_ my boyfriend.” She narrows her eyes at him as she moves backwards. “If I were to go downstairs and go back to Ian, you couldn’t stop me. It’s not your right.” 

She watches as his jaw tightens and the anger flows back to his eyes. Jesus Christ, what the fuck is she even doing right now? She doesn’t understand why she’s trying to get a rise out of him or why she’s even saying any of this at all. She just knows that she needs an answer. 

Veronica’s words from earlier come back to her. She doesn’t want to be the girl that falls easy and hard; she’s not even sure if that’s what’s happening here with Jughead. She’s pretty sure it’s not, and even if it was, she doesn’t want it to be. Jughead was ice cold. She wasn’t even sure if he was capable of loving someone, especially someone who had no warmth, and was frankly put, acting like a fickle little bitch. She doesn’t understand why she is the way she is sometimes, but she does know one thing; she could never change Jughead’s feeling towards her, even if she wanted to. Hell, she couldn’t even keep Reggie happy in the end.

She sees how he looks at her; like she’s just someone to keep him company during the night, and she knows that can’t be enough for her. She can’t even imagine him ever looking at her in another way. She remembers how Reggie used to look at her in the beginning; with absolute love and adoration in his eyes and it makes her even more mad. She deserved to be looked at like that and she didn’t understand why no one thought the same, besides Veronica.

“Okay, Betty,” Jughead says a little softer, “what’s wrong? Where’s this coming from?” 

“I can’t do this,” she blurts out. 

“Do what?” When she just gives him a torn look, his frown deepens. “Why?” He actually sounds like it bothers him and Betty realizes that’s why she needs to leave. Veronica was right. She’s way too in over her head here and she can’t do sex without the feelings. 

Betty doesn’t know how to be someone’s sugar baby, she doesn’t know how to be someone’s booty call or one night stand or even dancing partner. And that wasn’t a Jughead-exclusive sentiment because she couldn’t relax herself with Ian without a drink clouding her senses first. She hasn’t even been seeing Jughead that long and here she is, craving to see some kind of reaction out of him that isn’t so cold and distant. It’s pathetic. 

What the hell is wrong with her? 

“I just need to go,” she says. She turns around and walks out of the room, ignoring Jughead calling her name as she hurries down the stairs. 

She sees Veronica sitting at the bar with Toni and some redheaded girl she’s never seen before, and she walks over to her. 

“Hey!” She yells out loudly over the music. All three girls turn to look at her. “I’m leaving. I don’t want to be here anymore.” 

“Why?” Veronica asks. “Are you okay? Did he do something to you?” She stands up from her seat and Toni follows her lead, looking troubled herself. The redheaded girl looks confused by all means. “Where is he?”

“He didn’t do anything. He’s not like that. It’s just…” she trails off and lets out a loud sigh. “You were right, okay? I’m not cut out for this.” She doesn’t realize that she has a tight grip on the cuff around her arm until Toni’s eyes shoot down to it. Suddenly she has the urge to rip it off and throw it to the ground and stomp on it. It’s not going to shatter or anything, it’s made of metal, but she wishes it would so she could throw it at something, hard. “I’ll see you at home.” 

She ignores whatever else Veronica has to say in protest as she walks out of the club. She needs to be away from all the music. She needs cool air and some water. She knew she shouldn’t have came here tonight. If she would have just stayed home then everything would have been fine. She never would have had her stupid epiphany about how absolutely pathetic she is and her and Jughead would still be doing their little thing. 

Is their thing over? 

She doesn’t want to think about that, but it makes her feel _sad_. She knows she hardly knows him, it’s something she keeps reminding herself constantly, but she _wants_ to know him so badly and that’s the problem. She had tried to play it cool earlier, but when he’d brushed her off so easily and rudely this morning, it had really hurt. The kiss he’d given her before he left her room hadn’t been able to mask the sharp pain she’d felt in her gut at his exit. He keeps trying to cover up his emotional coldness with physical warmth and she can’t process that because it’s not enough anymore, if it ever was to begin with.

She wasn’t used to not having someone fawn over her. She knows how self centered that sounded and it makes her feel grossly conceited, but it was true. Reggie had made sure she knew she was the center of his world and it was something she craved. She never wanted to be the kind of girl who needed reassurance and constant affection and attention, but she was. It wasn’t something she’d had growing up and after getting it from Reggie, she wasn’t sure how she was supposed to be okay with just sex and gifts. She didn’t think it was possible. 

Jughead made her feel amazing sexually. She’d never been with someone like him before and it was completely life changing. So even if their thing was over, she was grateful for the self exploration it offered her. But the words she’d said to him the second night at the club still remained true. He couldn’t give her all the things she wanted in life and she didn’t want to spend her time on someone that she knew wasn’t an endgame for her.

Betty wished she could just fuck him and take his nice gifts and be okay with it all, but she was a hopeless romantic at heart. It’s just in her nature and it’s not something she could just change so easily. She’d been stupid to think she could. She’d been stupid to think that she could do this without catching feelings for Jughead. It hadn’t even been that long and she already knew that whatever she was feeling towards him was slowly starting to change.

And she couldn’t have that because these sorts of arrangements go haywire when combined with the messiness of romantic emotions. She couldn’t. Jughead had made it more than clear that he wasn’t interested in anything other than sex and giving her the occasional pretty thing. Jughead would do nothing but break her heart and after Reggie, she can’t let someone else do that to her. She’d only loved one person with her entire heart and in the end it hadn’t gotten her anywhere except the bottom of a bottle and nights full of tears and sad movies. 

The part that hurts more than anything is that it’s not that Jughead was incapable of love, because every now and then he does little things that make her feel like she could be _so in love_ with him, if she isn’t already too far gone. Sometimes he’ll smile at her, or kiss her in a certain way, and she feels like she could be the centre of his universe. Then he drenches her in the metaphorical cold water and leaves her alone again. So why can’t he change? Why does it have to be her bending her back for him? Why can’t _he_ be the one trying to please her for once? Why can’t they just go legit, and be in a real relationship?

She had to stop herself while she still could. Jughead Jones was the type of man that could have any girl with the snap of his fingers and Betty couldn’t be that for him; she couldn’t just be a girl that he wanted to have fun with. She needed more and she knew that. Veronica had been right and now that she could see it, she knew she had to distance herself from him before she got too caught up in everything. She has to cut the brakes.

She pulls her phone out of her purse and goes to get an Uber but a soft hand on her arm stops her. Her first thought is that it’s Jughead, but she knows it’s not. This hand it way too small to be his. She isn’t sure if she’s disappointed or relieved. When she turns around to see Toni staring at her with a sad look, she just grows confused. It’s the first genuine look she’s seen on the other girl’s face. It’s almost odd.

“Toni? What are you doing out here?” 

“I don’t know what happened,” she says, “and I know he isn’t exactly the easiest guy to get to know, but he’s a good guy.” 

“I never said he wasn’t,” Betty defends. Despite whatever she feels, she knows Jughead is a good guy. She completely believes that in her heart, but they’re on two different levels here. They don’t want the same thing and she has too much self respect to let herself get dragged into something she knows won’t end well for her. 

“He doesn’t tell us much about his personal life. He’s always been closed off, but he told us about you.” 

Betty’s mouth drops open slightly at the other girl’s words, but she shakes her head and just frowns again. “I’m sorry, but I don’t understand what that has to do with anything.” 

“He asked me if I thought the Harry Winston necklace was too much,” she rolls her eyes and Betty feels like she knows what her answer was. “I know it doesn’t seem like much at all, but you’re the first girl he’s ever even mentioned to me. He even told Sweets about you and he tells him even less than he tells me.” 

“But aren’t you guys his friends? Doesn’t that seem weird to you? That he’s so cold with you even though you’re the closest people to him?” 

Toni shrugs. “Not really. It’s just Jughead; it’s how he’s always been. Choosing to be a part of his life means learning to work with that and be okay with it. He’s not very good with feelings.” 

This time Betty laughs as she shakes her head. “Well, he doesn’t have feelings for me so that doesn’t really matter. Either way, whatever this thing between us was, it’s over. I’m sorry.” She doesn’t even know why she’s apologizing to Toni, she doesn’t know her at all. Something about the sad look in her eyes and the way she’s trying so hard to make Betty understand Jughead’s actions hurts though. She can tell that there’s something unspoken in Toni’s words; something that she isn’t telling Betty and she almost wants to pry. But that’s a job for someone else, not her. Not now. Not ever. Jughead had made that perfectly clear. 

“Well, for what it’s worth, you’re the only person he’s ever let wear that.” She pointedly looks at the cuff around Betty’s wrist. “I don’t think you understand how much that cuff means to him.” She looks like she wants to say more, but she doesn’t. “I hope I’ll see you around, Betty.” 

“Yeah,” Betty says softly. “See you.” 

Toni gives her one last half hearted smile before she turns back around and walks inside the club. 

Betty looks back down at the cuff, at a loss for words. She then looks back up towards the club and wonders what Jughead’s doing right now. Is he sitting in his office? Is he still standing in the same spot she’d left him at? Is he at the bar getting a drink or is he completely fine; unbothered by the fact that she’s gone? Part of her hopes he’s forlorn and missing her, but it’s probably not true because _he’s Jughead_ and could have any other girl lying down for him at the snap of his fingers. And if by some stroke of luck it was, and he’s feeling anything close to the way she is right now she would sprint back in there, kiss him with all her might, and say sorry. Unfortunately, she just can’t know, so she stands there, pride bruised and head pounding, wondering what’s taking the Uber driver so long.

After what seems like hours, the Uber driver pulls up and she gets in the car, ready to be anywhere but here. 

“Hi,” the driver greets, an older man with hair that’s starting to grey in some spots. “How are you tonight, miss?” 

She smiles at his kind tone. “I’m fine,” she tells him. “Just fine.” 

Her mouth, once again, tastes bitter with lies.

.

.

.

Jughead Jones is rooted to the spot. His mind is still trying to wrap around what the hell just happened. One minute he’d been kissing Betty like his life depended on it and the next she was pushing him away and telling him she couldn’t do this. 

He wasn’t exactly sure what she was referring to. Did she mean just tonight or that she couldn’t do their whole arrangement anymore? He ignores the pang in his chest that he feels as he thinks that. Betty Cooper was… she was something. When he’d met her that first night at the club, he’d thought she was insanely beautiful. She had looked so sad and so lost, but still, she was the prettiest girl he’d ever seen. 

He’d never really cared for the company of women. He’d learned very early on that love was a myth. It was something that movies and books and TV shows capitalized on. It was something people wrote about to make their miserable lives better. It wasn’t real, none of it was real. It was a cruel game of make believe that the entire universe seemed to be okay with playing. Well, he wasn’t, so he didn’t try to play it with Betty. He’d learned that as he watched his mother walk out on his father, taking his baby sister with her and leaving him and his father completely broken. 

He’d been so mad at first. Mad at his mom for not loving him enough, for not loving his dad enough, and mad at his sister for being the only one his mother did love. Every kid wants to believe their parents are soulmates. Jughead’s parents were the opposite. Years later, and he still hasn’t come to grips with that.

But he did learn one thing from all of this; some people will find that love, the person who will love them unconditionally through everything. Some people find their place in that world. He just doesn’t have one. He’s the puzzle piece that doesn’t belong or fit anywhere. Others are destined to come closer to the people they love, and he’s destined to fuck things up and push them away.

Like he did with Betty tonight.

God, he wishes he could do the whole night over again, but it’s too late. Like always, his hotheadedness has ruined things for him. He feels so immature as he thinks back on the night. He threw a drink on her! What was he, an immature five year old?

He feels anger again, an anger that he hasn’t felt in years, and he almost wants to cry. Why was he so fucked up? Why did he have to be this way? Why couldn’t he just let himself have good things and be happy? Did he really have to hit the self destruct button on everything he ever loved or cared about? He wasn’t surprised that Betty left him. Everyone always did in the end.

It suddenly hits him, how he’s been describing Betty in his mind. _Everything he ever loved or cared about._ It dawns on him, and the realization feels like someone’s stabbed him in the chest. He hadn’t even really realized it, the way he was starting to feel about her. It had only been a few weeks that they’d been “together” now, but he was starting to feel something that wasn’t just sexual desire. He’d felt it when he’d seen her in his sweater that first day after they’d met. She had looked so tired, so beautiful, and sweet. He’d never given much thought as to what kind of girls he liked, but Betty’s sweetness was something that he craved now. He craved her tender touches that she’d offer up when they were laying in bed next to each other. He craved her gentle smiles and light kisses; the ones that had absolutely no sexual desire behind them. Just a pure, soft adoration, unlike anything he’s ever felt for anyone in his life. Hell, her terrible singing and stupid jokes she’d make while drunk were even something he wished he could witness again.

And then he’d felt it in the way he’d been seething with jealousy at seeing her with another man tonight. He’d been ready to start a fight right there on the dance floor and the intense rage he’d felt had completely taken him by surprise. He’d never been a jealous man, at least not when it came to women, but with Betty, he went absolutely crazy at the idea of her with anyone else. Even when she spoke of her ex, he could feel himself clenching his fists in anger. How could someone be so stupid to leave her, a girl with a heart of gold and so much love to give? He almost wanted to kick Reggie’s ass just for hurting her, but a fucked up part of him wants to thank him too. If it weren’t for Reggie breaking up with her, then he’d have never met her. He’d never gotten to know Betty Cooper and that thought frightens him.

He cares about her. He doesn’t want to and he almost wishes he didn’t, but he does. Maybe he could even love her one day, if he didn’t have to ruin everything the way he always does. And that scares the shit out of him. He doesn’t know the first thing about loving someone; he’s not even sure he knows how. He doesn’t even know if that’s what he’s feeling to begin with, so maybe it was best that Betty ran away from him, maybe it was best that they just forget this entire thing. Maybe she deserved the Ian’s of the world, who had money _and_ heart to match. All Jughead had to offer her was money and he knew she was worth so much more than that. He could never be all the things she needed, he hadn’t even been aware that he wanted to be; not until she was turning her back on him. 

He’d had her, at least a small part of her, and then in the blink of the eye, he didn’t. She couldn’t even stand to be around him now, how could he expect her to stick around for any longer? When she finally realized that he was unlovable, that he was just a lost cause, she’d leave. So maybe it was good for the both of them that they just end things here while they still can, while everything’s still fresh and it won’t hurt as much. 

Or that’s what he tells himself at least. And then he really does snap, and the tears come cascading down his face, they’re burning and messy and his chest constricts. He hasn’t cried in years, but here he is now, alone and inconsolable.

Just like he was always destined to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :-) i love ya'll.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you as always to Ten for being the best beta ever. <3 I love you and all of your messy commentary while I write. 
> 
> As always, enjoy. ;)

Some people say that if you say the same word over and over and over, it doesn’t really sound like a word anymore. You could pick any word, and roll it in your mouth ten or so times and it starts to sound like a strange amalgamation of sounds instead of a word with a meaning and significance.

Betty thinks she’s done exactly that with coffee. She used to adore the flavour, even bitter (but never without creamer. She might skip the sugar sometimes but she still loves herself), but these days she’s been throwing cups down her throat all day long. The overdose of caffeine is keeping her awake and restless all night, so she drinks more coffee to keep herself going the next day. Yet another cruel cycle to have fallen prey to.

Part of what’s keeping sleep just out of reach must be the obvious thing that she’s been “ignoring.” 

The thing is that she hasn’t talked to, seen, or even heard from Jughead in a whole week. Which honestly, isn’t even that long and is exactly what she had wanted if her actions were anything to go by; at the time at least. She was regretting her dramatic walkout now and she was aching to communicate with him somehow. She feels adrift, like a raft floating at sea that doesn’t know where it’s going. 

She doesn’t even know what she would say though. _Sorry for dumping all my stupid relationship issues on you?_ She hasn’t quite thought it out just yet, but she definitely, surely, absolutely misses him. Which is exactly the whole reason she’d wanted to walk away from him in the first place. She _shouldn’t_ miss him, and the whole universe was right. Betty has never been a no-strings-attached person. They hadn’t even been anything to each other aside from someone to fall into after a long, hard day, but she’s starting to miss that too. 

She’s considered calling him a few times, but she feels - no, she _knows_ he doesn’t want to hear from her. He probably hasn’t even thought twice about her since she left him and here she was, pining like an absolute fool, a lovesick teenager whose lost her head. A part of her had actually expected him to reach out to her, if not to apologize, at least to check in. She couldn’t help but be a little disappointed and hurt that he hadn’t. Then again… _why would he?_

She throws back the rest of her coffee, burning her throat just as Veronica walks into the kitchen. She looks flawless even though she just woke up and Betty wonders how that’s even possible. 

“Jesus, Betty. Did you even sleep? It’s like eight in the morning and you look like you rose from a grave rather than your bed.” 

“Seven, actually.” She gets up to make another pot. “I think I got three hours? That’s a new record for me these days. Do you want coffee?” Betty knows damn well she shouldn’t be drinking more coffee or she’ll be completely off her rocker today. Veronica shakes her head with a quiet laugh as she walks over to the fridge and pulls out a bottle of champagne and some orange juice. 

“Isn’t it a little early to be drinking?” Betty questions. 

“It’s never too early for mimosas,” Veronica says with a lazy smile. She looks just as exhausted as Betty feels and she knows exactly why. Veronica’s been out this entire week with Toni and the redhead from the bar, whose named turned out to be Cheryl. Betty doesn’t know exactly what it is they get into, but she’s also having a hard time ignoring the light purple bruises on Veronica’s collarbone. She’d never thought her best friend to be into hickies but she supposes certain people bring out certain things in others. 

She pauses before sighing and turning her attention back to Betty. “Look, don’t you think this is a bit much? Why don’t you just talk to Jughead? Communication is key, you know.” 

“What?” 

“Oh, come on,” Veronica says. “You really think I don’t know that this is about him? You haven’t seen or talked to him since that night at the club and ever since then you’ve been in a mood. It’s bringing me down.” 

“It’s bringing _you_ down?” Betty laughs humorlessly. “So sorry to make you feel bad.” 

“As you should be, but that’s not the point here. The point is that you’re obviously missing him and I don’t understand why you don’t just reach out to him.” 

“Okay, hold up! Weren’t you the one who was literally telling me that this thing wouldn’t work out?” Veronica shrugs and Betty glares at her. “No, I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what you said. And it’s fine, because you were right, okay? You were right. Whatever I had going with Jughead was just going to end up in heartbreak or something just as tragic and it’s better to stop that while I’m ahead, right?” 

“Right,” Veronica says but she doesn’t sound so sure. She’s looking at her a little weirdly and it makes her self conscious. She knows that Veronica is just trying to put off a full scale Betty Cooper meltdown. Betty supposes she’s only saying what she wants to hear. “So what’s next?” 

Betty shrugs with as much energy as she can muster. 

“I don’t know, V. I need to clear my head or something. I think I’m gonna go take a shower, see if I feel any better.”

“Alright B, you do that,” Veronica says absentmindedly, a devious smile forming on her face when she sees Betty left her phone on the counter. 

Veronica reasons with herself that she’s looking out for Betty’s best interests. And it’s for reasons like this that when Betty got her new phone last year, Veronica insisted she put her fingerprint into it too. This is an emergency, right? Betty is absolutely miserable without him. 

Plus, she may be tangled up in other romantic matters at the moment (meaning she has no business saying this), but Betty is _hot_. That’s just a fact. She’s come far from the days of figure-hiding pastel sweaters and jeans that fit awkward in the leg back in high school. This Jughead, whoever the fuck he thinks he is, has the audacity to cut her girl off like this. He doesn’t know what he’s missing and she won’t have her best friend feeling like this anymore.

_Not on my watch._

And with that, Veronica waits until she hears the shower water running and opens up Betty’s phone, shuffling through the contacts with urgency. Betty takes uncomfortably short showers and she absolutely does not have anytime to waste here. She finds a contact named Daddy with a pink heart next to it and it immediately grabs her attention.

For a second, she almost scrolls over it, thinking it to be Betty’s father, but then she remembers that Betty hates her dad and she’s pretty sure his contact name is something like ‘Satan’s Spawn’ or “Devil Incarnate.” In fact, she might not even have his number saved. With a confused look, she clicks on the thread and immediately gasps when she sees the messages in front of her. 

She’s not here to snoop, but she just can’t help herself. She wants a better understanding of what their relationship is like; if there’s actually something more there, and what better way to find out than looking through a few little texts? 

The last message sent was from Jughead. It’s telling Betty to stay put and safe, reminding her that he’ll be “there” shortly. It must have been from the night of the party. Even through text, Veronica can sense the worry that he must have been feeling. Their messages aren’t as exciting as she would have originally thought. Jughead asks her to come over, Betty says yes. He sends her a link to Chanel’s website, asking her if she likes something. Veronica opens up the link and nearly faints when she sees the beautiful purse in front of her eyes. 

_You lucky girl_ , she smirks. The messages are a little flirty every now and then and even though there’s really not much there to see, she can definitely tell that these two idiots aren’t just friends-with-benefits or whatever it was they agreed on. Especially not a strictly sugar daddy/baby relationship. These messages had way too much flirting and sweet banter to be just that. She’s actually startled by how invested Jughead seems in this, Betty had made him sound like a callous dick. This man’s done everything just short of propose to her with a 10 carat diamond ring.

Honestly she should have known though. The little pink heart should have been a dead giveaway.

_Oh, Betty. You really couldn’t be more obvious._ She thinks with a sigh. She would laugh, but she doesn’t know if this is even humourous anymore. _Friends-with-benefits, sugar-daddies, these really aren’t Betty’s thing, are they?_

Before she can talk herself out of it, she clicks up on his little contact picture, which _surprise_ , is a picture of the two of them in bed, smiling at the camera as Jughead kisses her cheek. Who’d have guessed it. It’s so cute that she wants to throw up. Seriously. It’s worse than her and her high school girlfriend were, and they were bad, practically attached at the hip and at the lips. People literally started to groan when they kissed.

So what was even the issue here? It was completely obvious that there was something more here, far beyond even the foundations of a relationship here. They were both in it _deep_. Was she really the only one who could see it? Aside from Toni, of course. The two of them had spent countless conversations groaning over how dumb their best friends were being about this whole thing. Cheryl proposed a bet on how long it would take for them to go official, and if Veronica hadn’t spent all her money for the night on shots she’d have gone in on it.

She decides she’ll have to have to have a word with this Jughead herself. If he’s as much of a goner as Toni says, he just needs a push in the right direction. Hearing the shower water run and Betty’s horrifically sad singing through the walls, she figures she has enough time.

The line rings twice before someone answers. There’s silence from the other end, but she can hear a shaky breath. It’s like he’s waiting for her to say something first.

“Hello?” Veronica says tentatively.

“Uh,” he drags out. “Hi. Who’s this?” 

“Betty,” she says for some reason she doesn’t quite understand. Her plan was to talk to him as Veronica, she doesn’t impersonate Betty very well.

“Let’s try that again, hm? Who is this?” His voice sounds annoyed now and Veronica’s having way too much fun with all of this. Underneath the annoyance, he also sounds kind of assertive, the sexy type of assertive. She gets why Betty’s into it.

“How did you know it wasn’t Betty? Everyone says we sound alike! Sometimes my dad can’t even tell us apart.” 

“I know Betty’s voice,” he confirms sharply, which okay, _cute_. “Is this you Veronica?” 

“Caught me! Hi.” 

“What are you doing calling me off of Betty’s phone? Do you need something?” There’s a pause before he’s talking again, this time much faster and a little panicked. “Is everything okay with Toni? Did something happen? Where are you? Is Betty okay? Who’s hurt?” 

“Woah!” Veronica yells out, cutting him off before he can work himself into cardiac arrest. “Everyone’s fine. Jesus Christ, why would anyone be hurt? What kind of wild, messy life do you live?” 

“If everyone’s fine and nothing’s wrong then please don’t bother me again with… whatever this was. Have a good day, Miss Lodge.” 

“Wait!” She calls out before he can hang up on her. “Holy shit. You have such a stick up your ass, don’t you? Don’t know how Betty deals with you.” 

“Excuse me?” He practically yells, obviously offended. _Good_. He hurt her best friend. He’s the reason she’s had to listen to Betty sing that stupid Ne-Yo song from like 1990 over and over again and she won’t stand for it anymore. 

“Look, I know we don’t really know each other and honestly, I’m beyond happy with keeping it that way. But all I do know is that my best friend hasn’t been sleeping, she’s been drinking coffee like a maniac because _you_ and stressing about _you_ keeps her up all night. And I won’t stand for this. Extend an olive branch, or else I promise you, you’ll pay for it.”

She pulls the brakes on her own rant because she’s getting loud and a little too harsh. This is still Betty’s beau, and she can’t take this so far that he won’t show his face around their apartment because of her. 

He’s quiet for a little bit and Veronica allows him to gather up his thoughts. 

“She hasn’t been sleeping?” He asks, gentle now. Even through the phone line, she can hear how much he genuinely cares for Betty’s wellbeing and it’s pretty swoonworthy. It’s a complete 180 from the jackass he’d just been. She figures he must be a completely different man around Betty and for some reason, that makes her like him a little bit more. 

“Nope. She woke up at like six in the morning today. Tell me, does that sound like the Betty Cooper we all know and adore?” 

“I don’t know what you think, or what she told you, but she’s the one who cut things off, okay? It was her choice. I’m just respecting that.” 

“And you’re very noble for that and we all appreciate it, but seriously? She misses you. I know she does. She’s a tough girl though and she has a lot of pride, especially after her most recent break up, and she won’t reach out to you if she feels like you don’t feel the same way. Which is why I’m here. She’s just scared to get hurt again, so if anything the two of you had meant something to you, you’re going to have to reconnect.”

“And how do you know I won’t do just that? How do you know I won’t hurt her?” 

The bluntness of the statement takes her by surprise. She hadn’t expected that at all. He doesn’t say it to be cruel, he doesn’t even say it meanly, he says it like he’s actually concerned that he’ll do just that. He says it like it’s his greatest fear and it almost breaks her heart. 

“Because if anything Toni’s told me is true, and she’s told me plenty, then I know you’re a good person. And if the way you made Betty feel these past few weeks is anything to go by, then I know you do care about her. I haven’t seen her that happy in a while, Jughead and yes, maybe it was moving a little too fast and feelings were growing at an alarmingly fast pace, but guess what? That’s the best kind of connection. You care about her, she cares about you. You both got swept up in a good thing. This doesn’t have to end this way, but the ball’s in your court now.” 

The water turns off and she rushes to finish the call. “If you want to fix this at all, stop by our place. I have a few errands to run in about an hour so I’ll be MIA. You guys can talk.” 

“Alright,” he finally breathes out. 

“Alright?” She asks again, just to make sure they’re on the same page. 

“I’ll be there. And Veronica?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Thanks. You’re a really good friend. Betty’s lucky to have someone like you in her life.” He says it wistfully, and Veronica wonders if he wishes he was one of those good people.

She grins and her heart practically swells. It’s such a contrast to what Reggie had always said about her. It’s the first time a guy in Betty’s life had referred to her as a good friend and it meant a lot more to her than he could have ever known, and she certainly likes him a lot more now. She figures that he’s definitely good for Betty and she suddenly feels a lot better about invading her best friend’s privacy to make this call. 

“Thank you,” she tells him. “I hope one day I get to say the same thing about you.” And she means it. She wants this thing to work out for the both of them. Betty deserves to be happy and Jughead was, no, _is_ a good guy. 

“Oh and Veronica?”

“Hm?”

“You called me from Betty’s phone, so to prevent this in the future, you should probably obtain my number from more ethical means. Send it to yourself from her phone, you have my permission.”

And with that, he hangs up, just in time too because Betty has gotten out of the shower and is calling Veronica’s name.

She’s quick to forward his number to herself before deleting all traces of their conversation from Betty’s phone. She places it back onto the counter where it had been and runs towards the bathroom, smile still on her face. 

“Yes?”

“Can you give me my phone? I want to listen to So Sick again.” 

Veronica can _feel_ her soul leave her body. 

_You better get your shit together, Jones. Because I’m about to lose mine._

.

.

.

Veronica had left pretty abruptly after forcing Betty to “dress cute”. She wasn’t sure why she had to dress up at all considering she didn’t plan on doing anything today, but Veronica said that it would help her self esteem and make her feel a little better and honestly? It did. 

She was wearing a light pink sweater dress that barely reached the middle of her thighs and she’d actually curled her hair and put on some light makeup. It was the cutest she had looked all week long and she was really happy about it. Maybe this was what she needed to get over Jughead. She had to start somewhere, right? 

Ten minutes after Veronica leaves, there’s a knock on the front door. She rolls her eyes at the sound. Veronica is forever forgetting something when she leaves and Betty’s sure that’s exactly the case right now. 

“Forget your phone?” She asks as she opens up the door. She has a smirk on her face but it falls completely once she sees who’s behind it. 

Jughead’s standing in front of her, he’s wearing black slacks and a black shirt and his hair is falling over his forehead in a way that has her eager to just push it out of the way. Her eyes drift down and lock on the box in his hands. Betty takes one look at him and suddenly all her thoughts of moving on completely fly away. He looks so sad and the tiniest bit hopeful that she wants to fly into his arms instead. She doesn’t know how she doesn’t do that to be honest. It takes everything inside of her to not jump onto him, their personal problems be damned. 

“Jughead,” she finally settles on saying. “What are you doing here?” 

“Heard you weren’t sleeping.” 

“What? How…?” Suddenly it all make sense and she curses herself silently for not realizing it before. “Veronica. I should have known. She put you up to this?” She feels something hot and angry course through her veins. _Of course_ he’s only here on Veronica’s coercion.

“Why aren’t you sleeping?” He also wants to ask why they’re still standing in the door, but he decides to keep his mouth shut on that one.

“Because I’m not tired,” she snaps. She doesn’t know why she’s so angry but she is. All she’d wanted these past few days was to see him and now that he’s here in front of her, she wants him gone. “Is that all you needed? To check up on my sleeping habits?” 

“No,” he says brokenly. “Fuck, I’m not good with this. I just… here.” 

He nearly throws the box into her hands and she looks down at it in confusion. The confusion turns back into anger once she realizes what it is. 

“Are you fucking kidding me?” She snorts. “A gift? A _gift_? On what world do you think this would make things better, Jughead? I literally told you I couldn’t be your sugar baby and now you’re giving me gifts to apologize? Are you really that dense?” 

“No, Betty. It’s just… open it, please. I-.” 

In a fit of absolute rage that she knows she’ll regret later, she chucks the box across the apartment and is satisfied at the noise it makes as it hits the living room wall and falls to the floor with a loud thud. It’s the most satisfied she’s felt in a while and she turns to Jughead, a sneer on her face, but it crumbles as she sees the look on his face. 

He’s not even looking at her. He’s looking at the box on the floor. The nervousness that had been on his face earlier is now completely gone and in its place is what she can only describe as complete betrayal and heartbreak. 

She feels guilty. Only for a second and then the anger is back. 

“Why are you here giving me gifts? We didn’t break up, Jughead. This wasn’t a relationship. You were _nothing_ to me. Okay? And I wasn’t a damn thing to you. I told you this wouldn’t work and this is exactly why. You thought I was what? Upset with you? So you brought me a gift? Even if I was upset with you, what would a gift prove? You give me those just for fucking me. They don’t really mean anything, do they?” 

He’s still looking at the wall and her anger grows. 

“But I’m not upset with you, because there’s nothing to be upset over. What we had was fun but now it’s over and the only way I can start to even _try_ to feel better is keep it that way. So please, if you don’t mind, get out of my apartment and the next time Veronica calls you, tell her to mind her own business.” 

He stands there absolutely stunned and lost for words.

Because she’s right. She’s completely right. The gift _is_ just a way to apologize to her, because he doesn’t know how else to do it. He’s never really had to apologize to someone. He didn’t get in fights with Toni and Sweet Pea, not really, and there was no one else, besides his dad and sister, that he even cared about enough to _want_ their forgiveness. 

He wants to say sorry, the words are on the tip of his tongue and he can picture himself saying them to her. He knows that all he needs to do is say sorry, to _talk_ to her, and then maybe things will be okay, maybe they can work this whole thing out. Maybe they can go back to how things were. If he could just say the fucking words. But he can’t. It’s like there’s a barrier between his mind and his mouth, he can think it but he can’t say it.

It’s why he needs her to open the present he’d given her. If she would just open it then she would see. But now it’s across the room, thrown onto the floor as if it’s nothing and maybe to her it isn’t, but to him… it’s more than he’s given a lot of people. It’s more than he’s given anyone.

“Betty… please.” He can feel his eyes watering and he blinks rapidly, not wanting the tears in them to fall over. He doesn’t want to cry in front of her. He can’t. He _won’t_. 

“Just go,” she says but it’s not as harsh this time. “Please. Don’t do this. Don’t make me hate you. Just… just leave. Go.” She’s practically begging him now and Jughead can see that she means it. She wants him gone. 

“Okay,” he whispers out, finally giving up. “Okay.” She’s not even looking at him anymore and he thinks that might be the worst part of it all. They hadn’t ended on bad terms, but him coming here had just ruined all of that. He knows Veronica’s heart was in the right place, but right now he was just wishing that she would have stayed out of it. Maybe then he would have been able to move on easier, the way Betty had wanted to do herself. Instead he had gone out and done something he’d never done before, given himself hope, put himself out there. Well, look how that worked out for him. 

“I’ll see you around,” he says even though he knows he won’t. “Sorry for coming by.” 

And then he turns around and walks away, not looking back because he’s terrified of what he might see. 

.

.

.

Betty lets the tears fall as soon as Jughead leaves. She closes the door behind him and cries, allowing herself to feel everything she had been holding in these past few days. She hates that she feels like this because she shouldn’t. The pretty makeup that made her feel so much better a short while ago is running all over her face.

Jughead should be nothing to her but the truth is, that’s just not the truth. She doesn’t even know when her feelings suddenly became so damn strong but it’s just like one day they suddenly were. One moment Jughead was someone she was using just to get over Reggie and the next, she’s craving his touch and his presence and his laughter. Those were all the things she used to crave from Reggie and that hadn’t gotten her anything good in the end. She couldn’t go through that again. She knows she said she wanted love and a future with someone but the truth is she’s not even sure if that’s true anymore. 

She’s terrified of giving someone her whole heart again. She doesn’t know how to trust someone with that again. Especially not someone like Jughead Jones who can’t even take her on simple dates without freaking out that she might take it the wrong way. 

She lets out a deep sigh and catches her breath before running her hands over her face to dry away the tears. She doesn’t know what to do know. She has half a mind to text Veronica and let her know just how much she _appreciates_ her putting her nose where it doesn’t belong, but she also knows that’s not fair. 

Veronica has always been a sucker for the fairytale endings. Betty thinks it might have to do with how in love her parents were. They were honestly swoon-worthy, Betty saw for herself when she and Veronica spent Christmas with her family last year. She just believed people were might to find their happily ever after with their soulmates. It was funny to Betty because Veronica had never even been in love, aside from whatever feelings she’d had for Archie in the past and then her brief girlfriend in high school. She had faith in whatever it was Veronica believed in, the stars, the universe, whatever. She just knew they one day she’d find her perfect someone. 

Betty was different. Her parents were a fucking trainwreck, to put it lightly. She doesn’t think she really knows what real love is, so romantic endeavours have always been her reaching for something she doesn’t really understand. That’s why Reggie had meant so much to her. She’d finally thought that maybe she was wrong in being so cynical about Veronica’s worldview on love. Jokes on her, she was totally right. 

She knew that love wasn’t something that just got handed to you when it was “meant to be”. She was just realistic like that, but Veronica dubbed her approach to it as cynical and depressing. She understands why the girl lives in her world of sweet fantasies. 

Betty just couldn’t afford to think that way. 

She stands still, frozen in place, for a few seconds before she finally decides to move and do something. A part of her wants to wash her face, throw her hair up, and change into pajamas. The high she’d been on earlier from being so well dressed and feeling pretty had all but completely faded now. She just felt stupid. 

She walks away from the front door and her eyes lock on the box she’d thrown to the ground earlier. The sting of guilt comes back full force. She hadn’t meant to act so terribly but she was just so upset and she just couldn’t contain her emotions anymore. 

Before she even realizes what she’s doing, she walks over to the box and picks it up from the floor gently. There’s some weight to it, but not much, so she knows it isn’t something too extravagant. She tries to open it twice, but can’t muster up the energy to face what might be inside. 

_Come on, Cooper. What’s there to be scared of? It’s just a box._

She takes a deep breath as she opens it up and the first thing she sees it a little white card with writing on it. She picks it up and reads it carefully. 

_Betty._

_I was once told forget-me-nots represented a growing affection between two people, so I thought it only right to get you this. I know gifts don’t fix anything and you never even have to wear this if you don’t want to. I made it specially for you though and I hope that counts for something. It’s not the necklace that matters, it’s what it means. I’m hoping you know what it means, and what you mean to me._

_Although I have no doubt in my mind that it would look absolutely beautiful on you._

_Yours, Jughead Jones._

She reads the note card five more times, her heart pounding even harder each time. Was he saying that he did feel something for her? Was this him admitting that? She looks into the box and inside of it is a simple necklace with a little clear pendant that has pressed forget-me-not petals inside of it. It’s simple yet beautiful and she can’t stop looking at it. Somehow this necklace means more to her than anything else he’s given her. It’s because it’s a promise, it’s him telling her that she was wrong, that he does care and he does feel something for her. It’s not just a pretty thing to put on, it has meaning and feelings wrapped around it. 

It’s also a kick in the stomach telling her she acted wrongly. She was already well aware of this, but she’s once again reminded of it. It’s him laying to rest all those terrible and ugly things she’d said to him and now she feels even more terrible. She can still see the face he’d made as she had thrown the box across the room and she wishes she could rewind time and take it all back. 

She looks at the clock on her stove and sees that it’s been about twenty minutes since she’d kicked Jughead out of her place. Without a second thought, she throws on a pair of shoes and grabs her purse, running downstairs to her car, only one destination in her mind. 

.

.

.

She can practically hear her heart pounding as she steps into Jughead’s penthouse. The doorman had let her up without any questions, obviously recognizing her from the countless other times that she’d come here. 

There’s music playing as she steps into the foyer, something classical and so sad that it breaks her heart all over again. 

Her shoes click against the tile as she walks further inside, looking for Jughead. Soon enough, she sees him walking down the stairs. He’s still in the same outfit he’d been in when he’d gone to see her and she takes a moment to truly look at him. He’s handsome, of course, but underneath all of that, there’s a sadness that she hadn’t looked for earlier. It’s something she’d never really taken the time to look for when she was with him, but now she sees it and she wonders if maybe he’s just as lost as she is. Betty wonders how long the sadness has been there and how she never really recognized it before.

He stops in his tracks as he sees her and he blinks twice as if he’s not really sure if this is actually real; if she’s actually in front of him. 

“Betty?” 

“Did you mean it?” She asks. “The note, the things you wrote, did you mean them?”

“Yes,” he says softly, not missing a beat. “I did.” 

“You care about me?” She asks, just needing the confirmation. She needs to hear him say this. It’s something so small but to her it means everything.

Jughead finishes walking down the stairs and as soon as his feet hit the marble floor, he smiles at her. It’s pure and full of an emotion she’s never seen on him. It makes her heart beat even faster. 

“How could I not?” 

And then Betty is dropping everything in her hands as she runs towards him, jumping into his arms and wrapping her legs around his waist as he picks her up easily. She presses her lips to his and kisses him like she means it. His arms are holding her body so close to his that she almost feels like they’re one. 

“We should talk,” he pants against her mouth. 

“Mhm, later. We can talk later.” They do need to talk, but right now she misses him. She misses his touch and the way he feels and she needs all of it. He seems to feel the exact same way if the way he drops her before picking her up bridal style and all but running up the stairs is anything to go by. 

She laughs loudly at the quick change of action and he smiles down at her. She feels so free and so happy. She imagines herself always feeling like this with Jughead and the thought makes her smile even wider. 

When they reach his bedroom, he twirls her around for a second, their happy laughter flooding the room, before putting her down on the floor. Her feet hit the ground with a soft thud and then she’s back on her tippy toes to kiss him. The palms of her hands are flat against his cheeks as she brings their faces in as close as she can. His arms snake around her body and she walks them forward until the back of his knees hit the front of his bed, and then she pushes him down. 

He smirks up at her as she crawls on top of him, straddling his thighs and allowing her sweater dress to bunch up near her waist. She can feel how hard he already is through his pants and she grinds herself down on him, loving the feeling of being so close to him and yet _not_. It drives her wild. 

“I missed you,” she whispers against his lips as she leans down to kiss him. “So much.” 

“Show me how much,” he whispers back to her. They’re both smiling now and Betty leans back up to pull her dress over her head before tossing it off somewhere to the side. Jughead allows his hands to roam over the soft skin of her tummy before wrapping his hands around her back and pulling her down to him again. Too lost in his kiss, she doesn’t even realize when he unclips her bra in one easy movement. She smiles against his lips. 

“Most guys take about ten minutes to do that,” she informs him. 

“Good thing I’m not most guys, huh? As much as I enjoy savoring the moment, wasting time isn’t something I’m here to do.” And then he’s tossing her bra to the side as he sits up, cradling Betty’s body against him so that she doesn’t fall back down. 

“Take yours off,” she whispers as she tugs on the hem of his shirt. “I want to feel your skin against mine.” It’s not exactly the most romantic thing to say and maybe she’d be a little embarrassed if this was anyone else, but it’s Jughead and he takes his shirt off and tosses it to the side with ease before smiling back at her. He presses their chests together and she sighs at the feeling. She never knew that something as little as this could be so amazing. She closes her eyes and lives in this feeling of complete bliss for a few seconds. Jughead doesn’t rush her or move. Instead he places his head into the crook of her shoulder and rests it there lightly. She can feel his soft breath against her collarbone and his hair tickles her cheek slightly. It’s wonderful. It’s everything she’s missed. 

She leans back in his arms and he sits up again to look at her. There’s a dreamy look in his eyes as they flutter around, taking in every part of her face. 

“You’re beautiful,” he says and even though he’s said it a hundred times before, it still makes her heart stutter in her chest. Her cheeks pinken under his gaze and she bites at her lip. 

“So you say.” 

“So I do,” he hums. 

Betty pushes him back onto the bed and runs her nails across his chest as he’s laid down flat again. His hisses at the touch and closes his eyes and she grins. She’s never usually in control, but right here, right now, it feels like she is. It’s exciting. 

“I don’t want to go slow,” she tells him as she slides a hand down his chest and to the zipper of his pants. She grips him through them and he groans out as he tosses his head back. “I want you right now. Do you want me?” 

He opens his eyes again and they’re wide and focused on her like she’s the only thing in the world that matters. He nods his head slowly, almost as if he’s in a trance. 

“Tell me,” she whispers, a gentle command. “Tell me how much you want me, Jughead.” He opens his mouth, but no words come out. He looks absolutely rooted to the spot. She traces a finger over his lips lightly. “You do want me, don’t you?” She says the words teasingly and even she realizes how different her voice sounds to her own ears. It feels like they’re playing a game right now and maybe they are. But at the same time, she needs the satisfaction of an answer. She needs to hear him tell her how much he wants her right now. 

“Yes,” he whispers against her finger. His lips catch on it and Betty watches with hooded eyes as he presses a kiss to the tip of it . 

“How much?” 

“Like I’ve never wanted anything before.” 

She smiles down at him before bringing her hand back down and dragging the zipper of his pants down slowly. 

“Betty,” he begs, bucking his hips up into the air to make her hurry. She pulls her hand away from his pants completely and he looks at her brokenly. It reminds her so much of the night they first met, but their roles are obviously reversed now. 

“Patience,” she says as she clicks her tongue. She doesn’t know where this sudden surge of power came from but she’s feels dizzy from it. If the way Jughead looks at her in complete awe is anything to go by, then she thinks he might feel kind of the same. 

“Thought you didn’t want to go slow,” he hisses out as she resumes unzipping his pants. “This feels slow.” 

“No,” she hums. “I just want you to know who’s in charge right now.” She winks at him and moves herself off his lap. “Take them off.” 

He does it wordlessly, looking at her like she’s someone else entirely. 

She’s not surprised to see that he isn’t wearing any briefs under his pants. She raises an eyebrow at him in question and he just shrugs as his cheeks redden. It’s not a look she’s used to seeing on him and somehow it makes the adoration she already feels for him grow. This feels old and yet new all at the same time. 

“It’s more comfortable without them,” he defends. “Wouldn’t you say so?” She looks down at her own light pink lace underwear and smirks as she tugs them off herself. 

“I suppose so.” She swings her legs back over his own. They’re both completely bare now and she doesn’t want to waste a single second longer with whatever foreplay she’d just been intent of having. Right now she just needs to be as close to him as possible. She needs to make up for the time they couldn’t do this. A week feels like an eternity now.

She grips his length in her hand and strokes it two times, watching the dreamy look on his face return, before she lifts herself up and slides down on it slowly. His eyes widen, obviously taken aback by the sudden action but she just lets out a low moan. She’d been soaking wet already. There was something about Jughead that just got her going. All he had to do was look at her and she was dripping. She’d been ready to go since the moment they kissed. 

She has to get used to this feeling again. It’s only been a week since the last time they did this, but she still has to go a little slower than normal as she sinks down onto him. She needs to feel this, though. She wants to feel every single inch of him inside of her right now; to remind her that he’s there with her and, in this moment at least, he’s completely hers. 

His hands fly to her hips as she bottoms out, gripping at them tightly. 

“Fuck,” he hisses. “You feel so fucking good, Betty. Always feel so good.” 

She smiles as she runs her hands over his chest. “Did you miss this? Did you miss being inside of me?” 

“Yes,” he breathes out. 

“Did you miss feeling this?” She slides off of him in one fluid motion and then drops back down on him one second later. The feeling has both of them gripping onto the other one tighter. 

“Yes.” 

“Do you miss us going slow?” Again, she rises off of him slowly and then slides back down even slower. She does this a couple more times, watching the way his chest rises and falls each time. “Or do you miss us going fast?” Her movements become quicker now and she gasps as he starts to buck his hips up to match her own pace. Her eyelids flutter as she tosses her head back to let out a loud moan. 

When she looks back down at him, Jughead is wearing a wicked grin. 

“You really want to know?” He asks. Betty nods her head, needing _him_ to do something now. “Okay,” he says easily and then he’s flipping both of them over so that she’s flat against the soft bed and he’s hovering over her. 

“I miss the way you throw your head back when we go really slow.” He starts up a slow and steady pace and sure enough, Betty tosses her head back into the pillow as she bites her lip. She can’t help it, he just feels so good even as he moves achingly slow. “I like the way you suck in a breathe whenever I do this,” he presses his lips to her neck and bites at her skin gently. Sure enough she does just as he had predicted. “And the way you tighten your legs around me afterwards.” She hadn’t even noticed it, but her thighs have a tight hold on him, pressing him even closer to her body than he already was; something she didn’t even know was possible. 

“Yeah,” he laughs lightly, his breath tickling her skin. “I fucking _love_ that. But you know what drives me wild?” 

“What?” She asks, voice barely even a whisper. 

“When I go so fast that it has you screaming out my name and yet you still beg me to fuck you _harder_.”

Her eyes widen as they lock onto his own and she sees that they’re dancing with mischief and something else, something more, something that she can’t even begin to try and understand right now. Before she can say anything else, he snaps his hips into hers hard. She lets out a loud gasp and then he’s smirking as he starts pounding into her in that almost punishing way that feels _so damn good_. Damn if he wasn’t getting his sweet payback for what she was doing earlier. She wraps her arms around his back and presses her nails into the skin there, dragging them down as he hits a particularly good spot inside of her. He hisses at the feeling of her nails scratching his back. 

“Fuck, I love that,” he pants into her ear but she’s hardly paying attention, way too caught up in the feeling of him. “Do you?” 

“Jug,” she drags out as he picks up the pace. 

“Tell me,” he says, a gentle but soft command. “Tell me you love this.” 

“I love it,” she gasps, her back arching off the bed just the slightest bit. “I love it, I love it. Please, Juggie.” 

“Please what, doll?” He presses his lips to her neck again and kisses her, more open mouthed and sloppy than before. His movements start to slow down as he brings all of himself out of her before pressing back in with one motion. Her entire body feels like it’s on fire and yet she needs so much more. “Tell me what you want and I’ll give it to you.” 

“Harder,” she begs, just like he knew she would. She expects him to do just that but she’s surprised when instead he bites down on her neck harshly. She yells out but it’s more from the shock than pain because holy fuck, it felt so good. She feels a little dizzy from it. 

“Was that what you wanted?” He asks even though they both know it wasn’t. 

“Fuck me harder,” she clarifies, breathless.

“Are you sure you want that? You don’t sound so sure.” 

Betty glares at him before a thought comes to mind. She bites her lip and looks at him through hooded eyes. 

“Please fuck me harder, daddy.” She watches at Jughead’s eyes darken and his movements still for a moment. “Please daddy?” She pouts up at him and he narrows his eyes, knowing exactly what she’s playing at. 

“You’re a fucking minx,” he says with a smile that looks a lot like he’s two seconds away from eating her. She thinks she could be okay with that. “But if that’s what you want…” 

And then he’s flipping her over onto her stomach. She lands with a little huff but she grins. She never cared for doggy style in the past, but Jughead manages to make this position one of her favorites (come to think of it, he makes _everything_ her favourite). He knows just how to angle his hips so that he’s hitting that one spot that makes her eyes roll to the back of her head. 

She presses her head into the pillow and shakes her ass as she lifts it up into the air. Jughead’s big hands are on it then and he’s squeezing at the flesh there. It stings in the best way possible and she bites her lip hard to stop herself from full on grinning. 

“Do you even know what you do to me, Betty?” 

She shakes her head. “You could always show me though.” 

He hums out in consideration and then he’s rubbing his cock against her ass. Even now Betty can feel how thick and hard he is and it drives her wild. He brings a single finger down to her center and runs it through her wetness. Before she can question what he’s doing, his hands are back on her ass and he brings his lips next to her ear to whisper dirtily to her. 

“One day,” he says softly, “I’m gonna fuck you right here.” He runs the now wet finger down to that one spot that no man has ever touched before, let alone _fucked_ , and her entire body jolts. She can’t ignore the wetness that pools between her legs at the thought though. She’s never given anal sex much thought before. Veronica’s done it and said she’d never do it again, but fuck if anal sex with Jughead doesn’t sound like the hottest thing in the world. It’s so taboo, so dirty, and yet she has half a mind to beg him to do just that right here and now. She leans back into his finger and shimmies her hips, trying to press herself as close to him as she can in a silent invitation. Jughead chuckles darkly. 

“Would you like that?” He asks, keeping his finger in the same spot. He pushes in just the slightest bit, not enough for it to slide in at all, but enough for her to only just _feel_ it. She feels like her entire body is on fire with want. “Would I be the first?” She nods and she can _feel_ his grin. “Yeah, I would. Can you picture it, baby? Can you picture me fucking you right here?” She closes her eyes and does just that. “I’d be so gentle,” he whispers against her ear. “I’d get you all nice and ready for me. I bet your ass would look so pretty taking me whole, don’t you?” She bites at her lip, his voice is low as he whispers to her and it’s driving her even more wild. “Don’t you want to know how good it would feel?” She nods eagerly into the pillow, silently begging him to do it, to _show_ her. 

Slowly, ever so slowly, he pushes his finger inside of her and she cries out in absolute pleasure. She’s always admired his fingers, so long and thin, but now she thinks she fucking worships them. The feeling is so foreign and even a little odd, but she pushes back onto his finger, already craving more. There’s a slight burn, but it’s the kind of burn that feels incredible, the kind that you yearn for. Her head feels a little dizzy and she thinks she could come from this alone. 

“Imagine all of me,” he tells her. “Imagine how good I could make you feel.” She doesn’t even realize that she’s panting so hard until he places a calming hand on her back. “But not today.” And then he pulls his finger out of her, making her cry out in loss. 

“Daddy,” she cries out in a voice that she doesn’t even recognize. “Please.” 

“One day,” he promises as he places a kiss to the back of her neck. “I’m gonna make you feel so good right now though, okay?” 

“Okay,” she whispers. And then he’s pushing back into her, and the feeling is familiar and _so fucking good_. Her eyes flutter at the movement and she lets out a content sigh as he fills her up once again. 

“Still want it fast?” He asks and as soon as she nods her consent, he’s fucking her with the same rough energy as earlier. Betty’s screaming into the pillow, trying to muffle the noise, but Jughead isn’t having any of that. He wraps his hand through her hair and yanks her head back off of the pillow. She gasps at his rough touch and then hisses as it tightens. “Scream for me, baby,” he whispers in her ear. “I wanna hear you.”

“Fuck,” she whimpers and then she does scream as he pushes himself into her deeper. She can feel him everywhere and his hand is still holding onto her hair, adding onto to the pleasure and leaving just a hint of pain in its wake. All she can hear is the sound of his flesh hitting hers and their moans as they echo throughout the room. 

Jughead lets go of her hair and she falls back into the pillow, gasping as she tries to catch her breath and then his palm hits her ass sharply as he spanks her. It’s so funny to her how she’s always been so boring, so vanilla, and Jughead brings out a side to her that she didn’t even know _existed_. It feels so fucking good. She doesn’t know why but she doesn’t question it. Instead, she yells, partially in pleasure and partially in pain.

“I’m sorry. Did that hurt?” 

Betty turns and looks at him with fire in her eyes. “Do it harder.” His eyes widen and she takes pride in knowing that she can throw him off like that. “Please? Spank me harder, daddy.” And that does it. She doesn’t even have time to think before his hand comes down on the still stinging skin, hitting her harder than before. She inhales sharply and she expects that to be it, but when his hand comes down on her a third time, she cries out. He’s hitting the same spot and it feels like it’s on fire now; she finds herself absolutely craving that burn. 

“You know,” Jughead says, teasingly, “most people would consider this a punishment, but not you. Isn’t that right, little one?” He spanks her again and she cries out just as loudly as before. “No. You _love_ this. I bet you’d let me do this until your ass was bright red with my handprint, wouldn’t you?” _Fuck yes_ she would. “I could make it to where you’re sore for days.” His hand comes down on her again. “You’d think of me every single time you even moved.” _Again._ “Your jeans would rub against your skin and you’d be reminded of this, of how good I can make you feel.” _Again._ “Would you like that? Would you like having a reminder of how good I can fuck you?” _Again._ “No one else is ever going to make you feel this way.” Suddenly, before she can even process what he’s doing, he flips her over onto her back. She looks up at him, wide and teary eyed, panting so hard that she feels like she’ll never catch her breath. Her entire body is on fire and she’s completely under his spell. 

His eyes are darkened with lust as he looks down at her. He brings his hand up to her face and cups her cheek. It’s such a light and loving touch, a complete contrast to before, that it throws Betty off. 

“You’re mine,” he says. Betty gasps at his words. She knows that guys tend to say that, especially in the heat of the moment, but with Jughead it’s different. He’d made it clear that he didn’t want her to be his; that’s not what this was, but now he’s saying it with so much sincerity that Betty fully believes the dynamic of their relationship is changing. 

So it’s like second nature when she places her own hand over his and whispers out: “I’m yours.” 

He kisses her passionately and she wraps her arms around the back of his neck, pulling him as close to her as possible. When he pushes inside of her again, it’s slower and deeper. It’s nothing like the almost punishing way he’d been fucking her just a few minutes ago. Jughead is constantly switching things up and she has to admit that she likes it that way. 

With every roll of his hips, he moves inside of her deeper, making her gasp out as she clutches onto his biceps as if they’re the only thing grounding her. It feels so damn good and she knows there’s no way that she’s going to last any longer. 

“Juggie,” she moans, “I’m close.”

He brings his right hand down and for a second she’s confused but then he’s rubbing circles on her clit and she cries out, the pleasure being too much for her. 

“Jug,” she pants, repeating his name like a prayer. He leans down and captures her bottom lip with his teeth, biting down on it just hard enough that it barely hurts. Then he lets it go and licks it as if to soothe the pain and Betty’s feeling way too many emotions. Her pleasure is so heightened that she doesn’t even know what to do with herself. 

“Come,” he whispers against her lips, a gentle command as if he knew just what she needed, and Betty’s coming undone before he even finishes saying the word. 

She had never believed in an orgasm being so good that you see stars, but then she met Jughead Jones. Her back arches off the bed as she completely loses herself. His own movements are beginning to grow lazy and sloppy and Betty knows that he’s close too. When she finally lays back against the pillows, Jughead leans down and kisses her hungrily as he comes down from his own high. 

They stay like that, kissing and panting against each other’s mouths as they try to catch their breath again. She doesn’t know how long they stay in that exact position, wrapped up in each other, but eventually Jughead pulls back and rests his forehead against hers. 

They’re both smiling and their chests rise and fall in the same pattern. In a way, she’s never felt closer to him. 

“That was… unexpected,” Jughead chuckles and Betty snorts as she pushes him off of her. He lays down next to her, propping himself up on an elbow to stare down at her. 

“Yeah,” she agrees. “It was.” She looks away from him, not knowing how to bring up what she wants to. In the end she just decides to be straight up about it. “So… you said I was yours. Just how much of that did you mean?” 

Jughead’s smile stays on his face but it looks a little guarded now and Betty tenses up. He’s not going to take back everything he said, is he? She doesn’t know what she’ll do if he does. She doesn’t think she can handle that. Not now. Not after she’d finally had hope again. 

“I’m not a relationship kind of guy,” he says softly and Betty forces herself to listen, to not interrupt. “I never have been. I don’t know if I even can be,” he admits. “But I do know that everything I said before was true. I do care about you, Betty. This thing, it goes deeper than just sleeping together. I could try to push you away and protect myself and live with never knowing what could have been, or I can try. And I do want to try.” He takes a deep breath and she watches him, staying quiet as to give him his time to say what he needs to say. “But I need time.” She must make a face that conveys just how much that sentence scares her because he reaches out and strokes her cheek with his fingers gently. “Not from you. But in general. It’s going to be different for me but I want to get this right. I’m used to fucking not feelings. I might mess up sometimes, but I swear I’m going to try my hardest to make this work. If you still want to that is.” 

Betty smiles at him. “Are you kidding me? Of course I still want to. We can take this slow, Jug. I’m not asking for you to get down on one knee and propose to me any time soon.” And it’s a good thing too because his eyes widen at the thought alone, a look of fear on his face. “I’m just asking that you let me in a little bit. Not all at once, but a little at a time. It’s the only way this will work. And if it does work then that’s amazing, but if it doesn’t? At least we can say we tried.” 

He smiles at her; his face relaxes and he looks so at ease that Betty feels like this might just all work out for them. 

“So what now?” He asks, playfully. “Do we go on a date or something? What happens next?” 

“I know you’ve gone on dates before, Jughead Jones!” She says as she laughs. 

“Sure, but not with anyone that ever mattered.” She looks at him in disbelief. There’s no way he’s never felt anything for another girl. He’s 31 years old, there had to have been someone at least once upon a time. He must know what she’s thinking because he looks at her a little sadly. “I never really was one for love and happy endings,” he admits. “Always thought it was a bunch of bullshit.” 

“Why?” She doesn't understand how anyone could think that. Sure love got a little tricky sometimes, but she never stopped actually believing in it. She might have gotten angry with it, especially after everything with Reggie, but she still believed in her heart that she’d find it in the end. No matter how bad or confusing things got, she couldn’t give up on that hope, she _refused_.

“One day at a time,” he says as he leans forward and kisses her softly. Betty just nods as he pulls away, understanding that he doesn't want to talk about it right now. She can respect that. 

“One day at a time,” she repeats. It’s a promise; a reminder that things might not be complete right now but they have time. They have tomorrow and the next day and the next. They have as many days as Jughead needs. 

He pulls her into his arms and rubs soothing circles on her stomach. 

The last thing she feels before she drifts off to sleep, is his lips against her hair.


End file.
